Out of the Darkness, Into the Light
by Dalek Prime
Summary: Star Wars AU. The Clone Wars have reached the once peaceful planet of Mewni and the world is not ready for the conflict. Now the great Jedi Knight Rahm Kota and his jaded student Marco Diaz must come to their aid, but things become complicated for the Jedi in training when he begins to develop feelings for young princess he has been tasked to protect from a deadly Sith-assassin.
1. Welcome to Mewni

A/N: I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil or Star Wars: The Clone Wars

* * *

Chapter: Welcome to Mewni

Marco kept his eyes closed as he inhaled slowly, holding his breath for a few seconds before exhaling. He needed complete and total silence for him to connect to the Force as he reconstructed his two lightsabers through its power. He had been taking apart and rebuilding his weapons for almost two hours now as he remained sitting in crossed-legged position on the floor of his quarters as the ship he was on moved through Hyperspace. It was in these small moments of communing with the Force that made him feel truly at peace.

Peace, now that was something that the galaxy was in sort supply of these days. Ever since the Clone Wars had began, peace was almost felt like an illusion or some fairytale told to those who believed it was a real thing. Like all Jedi, Marco knew that peace could be achieved through a connection to the Force, however unlike his Jedi brethren; he did not believe that this senseless conflict would end well for either sides of the war and feared to think what might become of the Jedi Order one the war was over—if they won that is.

Master Kota once told him he was too young to this cynical, but war had a tendency to make one age mentally. Marco had only been twelve years old and had just begun his training with the Jedi Knight known as Rahm Kota as his Padawan when the war broke out between the Republic and the Separatists and since that time he had been fighting one battlefield to another alongside his teacher and his militia, seeing such horrors of war no child should ever see in their entire lifetime. Now fourteen years old, he had become quickly battle-hardened by this seemingly self-destructive conflict and only found solace through the serenity of the Force. However, it was becoming increasingly hard to find the time to train and meditate with the fear of having your head getting blown off in at any given moment.

Currently, the two Jedi and their militia where headed to their newest destination on behalf of the Republic. The planet they were traveling to was known as Mewni, a lush, forest filled planet that was located along the Mid-Rim that and for the most part managed to stay out of the war until now. According to reports, the planet was in the midst of a civil war between the royal family and some little upstart named Ludo, who claimed that he was the rightful ruler of Mewni. In a bold yet predictable move, Ludo allied himself with the Separatists and had gained a bolster in his military power thanks to the legions of droids that where sent by Dooku to help him overthrown the royal family.

Kota and Marco where the closest military force to Mewni and where instructed by both Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi Council to give the people of Mewni their support and help them defeat Ludo and his new droid army. While Kota, his student and his militia where up for the task, there was major problem: Kota's army had grown smaller during the past few battles and was now only down to at least eight hundred men and women under his command. Kota never liked the idea of using Clones, he saw them as unfit for battle; hence why he created his own militia to fight the armies of the Separatists, but it was hard to recruit good soldiers in these times and even harder to find time to train them.

It was then that the Chancellor offered a garrison of his own Clone Troopers that acted as the defenders of Coruscant to join them. Despite his master's distrust in the clones, Kota needed men to fight at once. So he begrudgingly accepted the offer of the troopers and soon enough, a garrison of at least twelve-hundred cloned soldiers were brought to him from the heart of the Republic. However, when they arrived, they came with an extra solider that Kota quickly grew to respect: Captain Wilhuff Tarkin.

As he nearly completed putting the final pieces together on his lightsabers, a sudden knock on his door broke his concentration and sent his weapons falling to the ground. He quickly put the pieces together by hand before opening the door to reveal his master standing before him. His master was a human like him; who despite his age was very well-built. He had his graying hair tied in a top-knot that kep it from keeping his face and a narrow-pointed beard on his chin. He wore an armored chest piece over his Jedi tunic and kept his lightsaber strapped to his back.

"Why did you keep your door locked, boy?" Kota said with a small laugh "Were you looking at those twi'lek holo-vids again?"

"Oh nothing big master, just trying to attain inner peace with the Force" Marco replied sarcastically "But thank you so much for just barging in and keeping me from doing that—very helpful in my training—Master Yoda would be so proud"

Normally a Padawan would be scolded for speaking to his master in such a tone, but Kota was not like most Jedi. The relationship between the two Jedi was like that of a farther and son, sure Kota could be a little hard at times, but he knew when to pull it back and give his student a chance to breathe and praised him for doing good at his training, saying that the Force was stronger with his Padawan then it was with the Jedi Knight when he was his age. He had even given his student his old Jedi white robes that he had worn in his younger days an adventurous traveler of the stars as a birthday present.

"We're coming out of Hyperspace now, we'll be taking a landing party to Mewni shortly" Kota continued as his voice became more solemn, as if he had something he did not want to say to his student

"Master, is something wrong?" Marco asked

Kota gave a deep sigh before making his way into his padawan's room, closing the door behind him as he did.

"Look Marco…I figured you should hear this from me before you hear it on the news" he began in more hollow voice

Marco's stomach tightened with worried anticipation for what he was about to hear. Kota usually referred to him as 'boy' most of the time and only called him by his name when he was being serious with him.

"What is it, master?" the young Jedi asked in a worried voice

Kota gave another sigh before answering him.

"Master Toffee is dead" he informed him in a saddened tone

The words Marco had just heard hit him like blaster shot through his heart. Jedi Master Toffee was the one who had found Marco as an infant and brought him to the Temple to learn the ways of the Force. It was Toffee who also not only started Marco's training at a young age, but also the one who introduced him to Kota for him to be his Padawan. Marco idolized Toffee as his personal hero and wished to be a great a Jedi as him someday. To hear this news would've emotionally crippled a normal person and while the Padawan was saddened by this, he did not break down.

"He was killed on Mygeeto during an ambush" his master solemnly continued "His body is being taken back to Coruscant to be cremated"

Marco looked away from his master and toward the ground as his mind still tried to comprehend the death of his hero. How could a master of the Force just be killed off in some random ambush so easily? It made no sense to the boy, but he kept his sadness and anger in check with another deep breath.

"I'm sorry Marco" his master said as he put his hand on his shoulder "Look, you can stay up here on the ship with the troops for a bit while Tarkin and I handle all the boring political stuff with the king and queen"

"No, no, I'm fine" Marco assured him "Master Toffee's become one with the Force now, the best we can do for him is keep going and win this war"

Kota gave him an uncertain look, as if he was able to look past his Padawan's words and see that he was hurting on the inside, but if he did, he said nothing on the matter. Instead he only gave his student an understanding nod.

"Spoken like a true Jedi" he said to him with a small smile "Come on boy, lets go meet the locals"

* * *

While the rest of army was still inside the cruiser that hovered over Mewni, Marco, Kota and Tarkin headed down to the planet first via dropship in order to speak with the king and queen and discuss where their troops should be placed. It was almost becoming routine at this point with two and their militia: go to a planet, fight some droids, have some friends die along the way, repeat. Marco was becoming so numb to the whole thing that he had started to sink himself further and further into his training and meditation rather then spend time with the members of the militia such as his two friends Alfonzo and Ferguson, thinking that it would be better to stay away from them then be standing over their graves.

Marco had to admit, Mewni was much more beautiful to look at then the past few worlds he had been on. It was a lush, forest world filled huge mountains that seemed to hold up the sky and rivers filled with crystal clear water running through bright green valleys. Despite how breathtaking the scenery was, he knew that this seemingly glorious paradise would soon become a charred battlefield in the coming months.

"Such a beautiful place…" Tarkin said more to himself then to Marco in a hollow voice as they surveyed the surrounding landscape from the dropship "It's a pity that'll it'll no more then dust soon enough"

Captain Tarkin was interesting man to say the least. When he first arrived with the clone garrison, both Kota and Marco didn't know what to think of him. According to his records, he was a solider who had enlisted at a young age to fight in the Clone Wars and quickly rose through the ranks to become a captain while he served under Master Even Piell until his untimely death during a rescue mission at the maximum security prison known as The Citadel. Since then, he had been the head of the Clone Troopers on Coruscant and a favorite of the Chancellor.

Aside from Anakin Skywalker, Tarkin was not well liked among the Jedi Order, who stayed away from him and—for lack of a better word—condemned him. However, the man who was considered to be too cold hearted and violent to work with by the Order found a strange kinship with Kota and his pupil. Like Skywalker, both Jedi had come to the conclusion that their ways of inner serenity had no place on the battlefield and had to separated their beliefs in order to get the job done in the name of democracy—only pulling back when it came to defended the innocent. Tarkin's military prowess and calculating mind bounded well with the guerilla-style fighting that Kota and Marco had used in their campaigns.

Soon the dropship came upon a large and elegantly built castle that overlooked a large village below it, no doubt this was the home of the king and queen of Mewni. After getting clearance to land, the dropship set down on a landing pad that was behind the castle. As the trio stepped out of the dropship, it gave the Padawan a chance to see the castle's beauty up close.

However, his sight-seeing came to an abrupt halt when the rulers of Mewni step out of their magnificent home to greet them. They were of course, walking with two of their guards on each side of them, ready to defend their two with their very lives if need be. The king was a short wide-shaped man with a long blonde beard on his face while his wife was much taller with darker hair and much a slimmer build to her.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Master Jedi" the queen greeted

"The honor is mine, your highness" Kota respectfully replied with a bow of his head before introducing his companions "This my Padawan Marco Diaz and Captain Tarkin"

"Look my dear, his apprentice is no older then our daughter" the King pointed out

"He certain is an adorable one, isn't he?" his wife added on

Marco grimaced at that remark. He hated it when people took one look at him and saw a young boy and not a Jedi in training, but in due time he would show these two that he was not some child. He glanced over to Kota, silently asking him for help, but all his master could do was shrug his shoulders and gave him quizzical look as a way of telling him to just deal with it before turning his attention back to the rulers of Mewni.

"And just where is your daughter, your majesty?" the Jedi Knight inquired

Just then, the group heard the sound a speeder-bike came roaring up to landing pad at top speed with what looked a girl dressed in a bright blue dress and a black helmet riding atop it. The speeder rocketed toward the newcomers at beck-neck speed until came to a sudden stop only a two feet away from where Marco was standing. The rider of the bike climbed off it and removed her helmet to reveal a girl who looked about Marco's age with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes smiling cheerily at the Padawan.

"Hiya!" she said happily "Sorry if I nearly ran you over. I'm still trying to get used to the breaks on this thing"

"Master Jedi—that would be our daughter, Princess Star Butterfly" the queen deadpanned, clearly embarrassed by her daughter's entrance before looking at her "Star, this is Rahm Kota and Marco Diaz, they are the Jedi that have come to help us"

"Wait— _he's_ a Jedi to?" Star replied before looking the Padawan's way with a smug look on her face "Aren't you a little short to be a Jedi?"

Normally, Macro would be defending his title of a Jedi (and his height) from such an insult right about now, but right now the boy couldn't even make words at the moment. The princess's blonde hair shined like the sun that was bouncing off it. Her blue eyes were as bright as Corillian diamonds and her smile nearly made his heart skip a beat or three. The girl's milk white skin was nearly flawless—except for a little red dot on the side of her forehead.

Wait, hold up— _ **red dot?!**_

Acting on instinct alone, Marco Force-pushed the princess several feet backwards just as a bolt of blaster struck the ground where she once stood before anyone could say anything about his sudden assault on the girl. The sniper fire made everyone ready themselves for combat or in the case of the king and king; panic and run back into the castle with Tarkin and the royal guards whiled keeping them covered with blaster fire from captain's gun. Marco quickly traced the line of fire from where the blaster was shot to where it was fired from and traced it upwards toward the castle.

Knowing that its cover was blown, a commando droid who was blending in with the many statues along the castle rooftop slowly rose up from its hiding spot and took aim at the Jedi who had ruined its shot. Marco snatched on of his lightsabers from his belt and ignited its purple blade just in time to deflect another blaster shot from the droid's rifle. During this time, Kota had already activated his own lightsaber and already Fore-jumped up to where the droid was and ran toward it while it kept its optics on his Padawan. The machine sensors picked up another being closing in one it and spun around just in time to see a flash of green energy decapitate it.

Just as the droid fell to the ground below in a broken heap, four more machines of the same design rose up from their hiding spots along the castles statues and descend on the Jedi Knight with blasters in their robotic hands. Marco took hold of his second lightsaber with his left hand and activated its purple blade as well before leaping onto the castle's wall to aid his master. The commando droids where on a higher vantage point then the Jedi were on the castle and began to rain blaster fire down on them, Kota and his student deflected the laser shots with their weapons.

Suddenly, two of the droids rushed down to where Marco was as they kept him pined with their firepower. Once they were close enough, they quickly put their rifles away and each took out a vibro-blade that was strapped to their backs and clashed with the boy's lightsabers. Kota made several attempted to assist his student, but the other two droids kept him from going anywhere.

The young Jedi kept pace with the droids swings, which were precise and deadly. They had managed to get on both side of him and he was starting to have to move his arms in two separate directions. In a flash he put the base of his two sabers together and gave a quick twist; interlocking them in the process. Now the Padawan had a saberstaff at his disposal. With his combined weapons, he was able to keep up a better pace with his opponents weapons, for every thrust they threw at him, he parried with great precision.

Soon enough, the Padawan had the droids on the ropes, making them fight defensively now until he managed to slice off the arm of one droid that was hold his vibro-blade with one end of his saberstaff before twirling around and cutting it in half with the other side. The second droid rushed at the young Jedi with its weapons to cut him down. Marco reached out with the Force and crushed the commando droid's head, killing it instantly.

The two droids that where battling Kota split up, while one kept the Jedi Knight pinned down with a barrage of blaster fire, the other jumped off of the castle and down to the ground. Marco saw why it had left it's comrade behind; for hiding behind her speeder-bike was Princess Star. the droid knocked the bike aside and aimed it's blaster at the girl's head, however just before it could squeeze the trigger, the princess suddenly wiped out a blaster pistol and put two well placed shots through the machine's chest.

Marco was stunned to say the least, he had always assumed that royalty would not dirty their hands with such tactics, but the princess of Mewni was clearly unlike any other else of royal descent he had encountered before. About this time, he heard the sound of a lightsaber cutting metal and looked to see his master dispatching the final commando droid.

"I'm getting to old for this shit, boy" Kota mentioned as he deactivated his weapon

Marco switched off his saberstaff and separated the two parts before he and his teacher jumped down to check on the young girl.

"Are you alright, Princess?" the Padawan inquired, despite knowing the answer

"You tell me?" she replied in a matter-of-factly tone before putting another blaster shot through the droid's head

"That was amazing!" Marco cheered "You just dropped that droid with two shots! I've never seen a princess do that!"

"I know my way around a blaster" she informed with a smile "By the way, if your gonna fling like a rag-doll, give me a heads up next time?"

"Oh! Right—sorry about that!" the young Jedi apologized with a small blush and a smile in embarrassment

Kota could feel his Padawan's emotions rise up as he spoke to the girl. In the past few months, he had watched his student become much more sullen and withdrawn from everyone around him. The Jedi Knight knew that the war was taking a toll on Marco on a both a physical and mental level and it filled with relief to see him smile again—something he had not seen on the boy's face for nearly five months now. an idea was staring to form in the old warrior's head.

"Star Butterfly!" her mother's voice rang out in anger as she and the others who found the shelter during fight stepped out once again "that was one the most reckless things you've ever done!"

"Meh, I wouldn't even put it my top twenty—but that's just me" her daughter mused aloud

"This castle is solely lacking in security" Tarkin addressed "Once our troops are stationed, I'll have a small detachment of clones to watch over the royal family"

"We can protect the king and queen just fine" one of guards sharply defended

"Oh yes and you're doing a bang up job so far" the captain remarked with a voiced dipped heavily in sarcasm "You allowed five commando droids to seek onto the castle grounds who nearly killed the princess in doing so. Excellent job gentlemen, you should all be rewarded"

The guard grumbled a few less then kind words about Tarkin under his breath, but was then silenced by a raised hand by the king.

"We'll allow this, Captain" the king answered "But I want a security detail for my daughter at all times for her first and foremost"

Before his daughter could speak up, Kota cut her off.

"I'm way ahead of you, your highness" he began before motioning over to Marco "Which is why my Padawan will watch over your daughter as her personal bodyguard"

"WHAT?!" the two teens shouted in disbelief

"Master—you can't be serious?!" Marco demanded "I should out on the battlefield with you!"

"And I can take care of myself thank you very much!" Star protested

"An excellent idea, Master Jedi!" the queen agreed as the ignored their detests to the idea "Then it is decided—"

"No! It's not decided!" her daughter shouted

"Your student shall protect our daughter" she finished before shooting the girl a glare at her child "And that's final!"

With an irritated huff, the princess stormed off into castle without saying another word. Meanwhile Marco remained outside to have a few choice words with his master on his decision.

"This is ridiculous, master!" he criticized "the princess can protect herself and if she does a security, then just have Tarkin's clones watch her like he said"

"Your right boy, maybe she doesn't need a hero" the Jedi Knight began gently as he put his hand on his shoulder "But what she does need is a friend. I want you to be that friend for not just her sake, but yours as well for yours, do you understand?"

Marco looked back at Star as she walked away, making his heart flutter at the sight of the girl once more. The Jedi forbid their knights to fall and love since it was form of attachment, but this wasn't love—at least that was what he told himself—this was simply interest at a girl who had never encountered before that he didn't have to worry about dieing (at least on the battlefield anyway)

"Very well master, I'll do it" he begrudgingly agreed with a nod "But I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to win a war"

With that, the Padawan quickly caught up with the princess who shot a glower to back off—which he did—but only a few feet behind her before continue to follow her into her lavished home.

"I have to agree with the boy, general" Tarkin mentioned "He would be better off on field then protecting a single girl"

"True, but he needs this" Kota countered "That boy has seen and done things that no one his age should ever do, he could use some companionship in his life"

He looked back once more to see his student looking back at his student to catch a quick glimpse him following up the princess into the castle with much more softer look on his face.

" _And who knows_ " the old warrior mused in his mind " _Maybe it'll turn out to be much more_ "

* * *

On the far east of the planet there stood another castle that was surrounded by dead and decaying plant life that had been poisoned or harvested in by a powerful war machine with the soul purpose of crushing the ruling class of Mewni and bringing in a new regime. While the castle in the capital was a dark and dilapidated building that held a tyrant who had dreams of dominating the planet and doing away with the ruling class.

His name was Ludo, and not he was rather displeased that his attempted assassination on the royal family today had ended in failure; so much so that he had contacted Count Dooku himself to address his said displeasure to the one who have given him the droids personally. This servants and followers watched as he activated his holo-projector to speak with the head of the Separatists.

"Lord Ludo, what an unexpected surprise" The Sith greeted in a droned tone "I trust my droids pulled off the assassination with little trouble"

"No they didn't! They we're all destroyed by two Jedi!" the small tyrant shouted at the holo-image of the Sith Lord "You assured me that those commando droids would get the job done, Dooku! Now they'll no doubt double their security at the castle!"

The image of Dooku glared back at him with annoyance in his eyes.

"You should be more mindful of your words, Lord Ludo" he advised in calm demeanor

A sudden pressure clamped down on Ludo's throat, making him wheeze and gag for air. The other creatures who served under Ludo's command looked on him horror as their leader was being Force-choked by someone who was on the other end of the galaxy.

"I might take them as an offense" Dooku coldly continued

"D-Duly—Ack!—n-noted sir!" the short warlord

After a few more seconds of strangling the would-be king to get his point across, the count released his invisible hold on him, giving Ludo a chance to catch his breath.

"But yes, the arrival of Rahm Kota and his student may prove hazardous to our conquest" the Sith Lord furthered which is why I'm sending you someone who can deal with them"

Just as he had said that, a tall figure wrapped in a dark cloak stepped into the short tyrant's throne room. Ludo's men fearfully took a step back, already weary of whoever this stranger was. The stranger removed his black hood to face his face to Ludo and his men.

"Allow me to introduce our newest alley in the war against the Republic" the Count announced "The former Jedi Master Toffee"


	2. The Princess and I

A/N: I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil or Star Wars: The Clone Wars

* * *

Chapter Two: The Princess and I

It had only been two hours since Marco was ordered by his master to personally safeguard the princess and in that short time frame wanted to put his own lightsaber through his chest. He knew that Star didn't like his orders anymore then he did and that very clear to him by shooting him glares and telling him to keep his distance away from her. Currently, the Padawan was standing outside of the princess's bedroom after she literally slammed the door in his face and locked it behind her.

"Princess Star, please unlock door" he asked in the calmest voice he could possible use right now

"You're not coming in here!" she shot back through the door "Go be with your master or something—just get away from me!"

"Trust me; I'd rather be doing anything else other then this!" Marco replied in harsher tone then he meant it to be

"Well now I'm differently not letting you in, you jerk!" Star argued back

"What? No—wait that's not that I meant—Argh!" the Padawan was fumbling through his words at this point

It was right about now that the teenager wanted to bang his head against the wall. It had been some time since he had some social interaction with someone his age and it goes without saying that he was rusty at it. He was more at himself then he was at the princess—though she wasn't helping his mood much right now either. There was a time when he would hang out with several other members of the militia that were around his age when he wasn't training with his teacher. Even though some of the soldiers that enlisted into the militia where still teens, Kota gave them a chance to serve in his army, saying that they had a right to fight as much as adults did. While Marco enjoyed having fun with his friends and fighting alongside them in the heat of battle, sadly in the end it only amounted to the Padawan burying them on some distant world and far from their homes.

As the Jedi in training was reliving painful memories, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong within the princess's room. It wasn't like a life or death experience he was feeling, but he did sense a shift of moods within the girl's bedroom. Marco then reached out through the Force and began to tinker with the lock on the door, turning the gears and mechanisms within it until he managed to unlock it. He then stepped inside to find the girl he was ordered to protect half way out of the bedroom window.

"Oh no you don't!" the Padawan proclaimed

"Oh yes I do!" Star answered as she tried to climb out of the window

Calling on the Force once more, Marco reached out and pulled the princess back and held her in place while he closed the window and locked it. Once he did, he released his hold on the girl—who was rather displeased at being foiled at her escape attempt.

"You're a real nerf-herder, you know that?" she scolded him as she marched up to him "You're just like everyone else!"

"Now wait a second princess I—"the Padawan attempted to explain his actions

"You think that just because I'm a princess that I shouldn't go run off on adventures!" Star continued, jabbing a finger at his chest as she did

"Well no I—"

"Well let me tell you something mister Jedi!" she declared, putting sarcasm into those last two words "I can take care of myself!"

"I know!" her bodyguard nearly shouted "I know you can protect yourself. I saw how you took out that commando droid earlier—it was amazing! I knew from that moment that you didn't need me to watch out for you, because you can clearly do that yourself! In fact the only real reason I stopped you just now was because I panicked!"

Once Marco's outburst was over, he saw that the princess was looking back at him with wide-eyes and had a shocked expression on her face. Obviously aware that he had embarrassed himself, he made the attempt to apologize to Star.

"Forgive me, princess" he said in a flustered voice as he bowed "I was speaking out of tone I shouldn't have—"

"No has ever said that about me. Like ever" Star said, still stunned by his words "Thank you"

"Uh…your welcome, I guess" the Jedi in training answered, a tad confused by her reaction

The young girl then turned away from the Jedi and sat down on her bed. She then gestured for Marco to sit next to her, which he compiled.

"Look, I'm sorry I was giving you a hard time. I know you had nothing to do with this" Star apologized "I'm just so sick of everyone thinking I'm some weak little princes—it's so cliché!"

"I know how that feels" Marco agreed with a sigh "Most people take one look at me and either see just some kid or some weak little Padawan. Aside from Master Kota—everyone else just underestimates me. They just don't think I can be more then this"

Marco then stood up from the bed and turned to face the princess with a gently expression on his face. He then held out a hand to her as her, giving her a small yet still warm smile as he did.

"Maybe you don't need a hero, princess" he said warmly "But how about a friend?"

Star looked at him in amazement for several seconds before reaching out and gently taking his hand in hers before he pulled her up from the bed and to her feet. As he did, she leaned a bit too far and bumped her nose with the young Jedi's nose by accident. Marco instinctively jerked his head backwards in order to keep his lips from touching hers as well. His heart raced at the chance of being this close to the girl, but his Jedi training shot down any wild thoughts he had of the princess; for love was forbidden among the Knights of the ancient Order. Instead he took several steps back away from Star, holding down a blush as he did. He then noticed a hint of disappointment in the young girl's eyes, as if she was slightly saddened by not being closer to him.

"I think I'd like that, Master Jedi" she finally said with a gracious smile "But please, just call me Star, ok?"

"Only if you to just call me Marco" the young Jedi agreed with a small chuckle

"I can live with that" the princess responded, her smile growing wider as she did

Marco couldn't help but share his new friends infectious smile, but on the inside his mind couldn't help but feel worried over what might happened to the girl as the war for Mewni would continue, for now he would just like to feel happy until such moments arose.

* * *

Ludo's eyes narrowed in Suspicion at the warrior Dooku had sent to him. The would-be king didn't like the idea of a former Jedi (and the fear of being Force-choked again) hanging over his head around the clock. Ever since he started this rebellion on Mewni, he had a vision that only he and he alone would rule the planet, but it after several defeats at the hands of the Mewnin military it became clear to him that he needed help with his campaign. So against his better judgment, he allied himself with the Separatists for the support of their droid army, however in doing so, he had to begrudgingly come to terms that he was going to have to report to higher authorities for the rest of his rule. So when the Sith Lord sent a fallen Jedi to assist him to win the war for planet, he couldn't help but suspect that this may be the start of Separatists undermining his rule.

"Let me make something very clear to you, _Jedi_ " Ludo began, his words becoming icy at the last words "Count Dooku may have sent you here, but as long as you live under my castle you will follow _my_ orders, understand?"

"I do" Toffee acknowledged in a monotone voice

"Well you had better because I'll have you thrown—whaaaat?" the short tyrant babbled in confusion

"Dooku only sent me here to deal with the two Jedi—whom I have personal a history with—and the royal family then leave Mewni once the planet is yours to control" the fallen Jedi continued on "once the war is won, you will have free reign over the planet and be recognized as a high-ranking member in the Separatist council"

"Really? Oh I like the sound of that!" Ludo cheered before eyeing Toffee with annoyance again "So what are you waiting for? I want those Jedi dead!"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple" Toffee causally countered "You see, I faked my death on Mygeeto and if I am to stay hidden from the Jedi Order, then I must work in secret. For if I'm discovered before my task is done then it might prove…problematic, for all of us"

"So how are you going to complete your mission and stay hidden? Seems a bit counter-intuitive if you ask me" Ludo argued

"Oh don't worry, I have my ways" the fallen Jedi answered "But for now, I require a room. I wish to meditate in private"

"Of course" the would-be king said before looking over to his right-hand man "Buff Frog, take our…guest, to one of our rooms"

The man-frog nodded in understanding before gesturing to Toffee to follow him to his new room, however just as they where about to exit the throne room, the former Jedi turned around to face Ludo's direction one more.

"Oh, there is one more thing I forgot to mention" he said before his voice became colder "If you ever call me a Jedi again…I'll kill you"

Ludo went pale upon hearing that, but before could apologize; Toffee had already left the throne room. In truth, the new servant of the Sith could care less what might happen to to Ludo and his little rebellion, Lord Tyrannous had sent him to Mewni for another reason altogether; the task of killing Rahm Kota and his pupil was merely a cover story so that the short tyrant would not suspect his true intentions of coming here, through it was fortuitous that Marco had come to the planet, for Toffee had plans for him, but until then, he would work in the shadows and in the service of the Sith.

...

 **A/N: sorry for the short chapter, but I hope you guys liked it regardless**


	3. A Freind of the People

Chapter Three: A Friend of the People

The rising sun over Mewni brought the arrival of the army of the Republic. Several dropships and carriers flew down from the skies above, bringing with them troops and vehicles that would help them win in the battle against Ludo and his droid army. Both the clone troopers and Kota's militia were landed right outside the castle grounds as they began to create a make-shift command center. The soldiers under the Jedi Knight's command were in a much different uniforms then the white and red body armor of the clones from Coruscant wore. The militia was dressed in a blue shirt with a black sleeveless vest over it with black combat boots and a white helmet that covered the top of their heads. Many of the townspeople new the castle came out of their homes to see their new protector's arrival on their world.

As both armies unpacked and mobilized their weapons and vehicles, Kota and Tarkin oversaw the details of their army every step of the way, they also took the time to over look the surrounding territories that were controlled by Ludo's forces and plan ahead on how to combat them from the new command center.

"Ever since Ludo received aid from the droid army, he's been taking over small villages and mines along the outer territories" Tarkin pointed out as the look at a holo-map of the kingdom "But by the looks of things, he's getting bolder with this forces marching in more populated areas"

"It looks like he's trying reach out further in a short amount of time" Kota mentioned "He's anxious to win this war as soon as possible, that's for sure"

"Perhaps to anxious, general" the Captain mused

"Exactly" the Jedi Knight answered "He's so over-confident in the use of those droids that he'll just bull-horn his way into anything if he thinks it'll earn him a victory"

"Even a trap" Tarkin finished as he surmised what Kota was getting at "We can use his over-confidence against him and have him fighting in battles that are on our terms. A brilliant idea, General Kota"

As they planned out their attacks, the king and queen of Mewni approached them with two different guards then yesterday accompanying them. However, rather then be impressed by the new military might that had come to help them, they were confused as to how little an army had arrived on their planet.

"Are there more troops arriving later today, Master Jedi?" the queen asked

"Sadly, this is it" Kota replied

"But this is only a mere two-thousand men, Ludo has legions of droids at his disposal!" the king argued "and most of these soldiers aren't even clones!"

"With all due respect your majesties, but your call for the Republic's help came at a very bad time" Tarkin explained "the Jedi and their clone armies are spread thin enough as it is. This was the best we could do on such short notice"

"And my militia maybe small, but we've faced bigger numbers and come out on top" Kota retorted in defense of his men "Besides; with help of your own armies, we should be able to make it a fair fight"

While the king and queen of Mewni were still unsure how such a small force could combat a massive machine army, they were forced to swallow their doubts and trust the Jedi and the captain's troops.

* * *

Meanwhile inside the castle, Marco was already up and deep in meditating in a cross-legged position on his new bed. At the request of Princess Star, her new friend was given a bedroom that was right across from her own room. She hated the idea of the Padawan standing outside her bedroom twenty four/seven and had one of the guest rooms prepared for him, making him feel less like a bodyguard and more like a guest in the castle. Marco had to admit though; the concept of sleeping on a proper bed was almost an alien concept to him at this point. During his time with Master Kota and the militia, he had sleep on cots, piles of hay or just the dirt he stood on. In truth, the second he laid down on the bed, he instantly felt uncomfortable with how soft the mattress was and ended up sleeping on the floor instead.

Sleep was also becoming a foreign thing to the young Jedi as well. At best, Marco could get a decent four hours worth of sleep if he had the time for it; however whenever he closed his eyes to rest, the images of battles flared through his mind just as freshly as they happen in real life. Along with those battles came the memories of friends who had fallen in firefights and swallow graves he helped bury them in before moving on to the next conflict.

The night before was no different, he had only slept a total of three and a half hours before his dreams turn into blood-soaked flashbacks of warzones of the past. From Kashyyyk, to Utapau to even the one place he'd rather not think about ever again: Nar Shaddaa. His head was filled with the dying screams of soldiers he fought and bled with from the very first day, making him bolt awake in pool of his own cold sweat.

Now normal people would break down from the lack of sleep and the pain of past battles, but it was because of Marco's close connection to the Force that kept him going at a normal pace. Through his mediations, he could call upon the Force to give him both the clarity and the stamina to keep fighting on. Sadly however, he could not use its great power to wipe away the awful memoirs of the atrocities of war he had both seen and in some cases committed in the name of peace.

He buried himself deep within the Force as he slipped deeper and deeper into its embrace. Through his connection to the scared power, the Padawan began to make several objects in his levitate from where they once stood, such as a few chairs, a dresser and even the very bed he was perched upon. He could feel the Force silently guide him as he lifted the furniture higher into the air, feeling like nothing in the entire galaxy could ruin this moment.

That was until….

"Gooood Morning, Marco!" Star she sang with glee as she flung open the door to his room

The sudden intrusion made the young Jedi break his concentration, making everything he was holding up plummet to the ground and the Padawan himself fall face first off of the bed and onto the floor. The young princess looked around the room and quickly understood that she had barged in on something obviously important.

"Oh…did I interrupt your Jedi training or something?" she asked in an embarrassed tone

"For lack of a better word, yes" Marco replied as he picked himself up from the ground

"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to!" Star apologized as her cheeks became flushed with shame

"No, no, it's ok Star, you didn't know" he assured his new friend before looking around the now trashed room "Though I should fix this place up a bit—I mean I just kind of destroyed it and all"

"Nah, it's cool, the servants will handle it" the young girl shrugged off

"So I get the feeling that you came in here other then to say good morning to me" the Jedi in training reasoned "Is there something I can do for you?"

Instead of coming him an answer right away, the princess took Marco by the hand and lead him toward the window in his bedroom. Marco's skin turned warm as the princess soft touch held his rough palm. Once they reached the window, she pointed downward to the soldiers that where assembling just below them—or more to the point—she was pointing at the giant AT-TE's that were being mobilized from the carriers that had dropped them off.

"I wanna get a closer look at those things" Star said with a giant smile on her face

Without realizing it, Marco found himself smiling back. He just couldn't say no to this girl.

"Alright then, I'll show you around" he answered

* * *

Soon enough, the Padawan and the princess were among the soldiers and their war machines. Star awed in wonder as she marveled at one of the massive six-legged AT-TE's up close. As she did, Marco noticed a pair of militiamen running up to the princess and him and instantly grimaced.

" _Oh great, them_ " he thought to himself in annoyance

The two people Marco was referring to were two militiamen around his age. The first was a tall tan-skinned boy with brown curly hair under his helmet while the other was a very heavy-set teen that with red hair.

"Hey Marco, what's up buddy!" the pudgy solider said as the finally reached him "We heard you got put in sercuity detail for the princess—you lucky dog you!"

"Who are these guys, Marco?" Star asked

"Who are we? We're Marco's best friends!" the taller boy explained before the Padawan could "I'm Alfonzo and this is Ferguson"

"And just who are you, my lady?" Ferguson inquired in his best attempt at a cool tone

"This is the princess of Mewni" the young Jedi cut in sharply "And you two are away from your posts"

"Relax Marco; we're still organizing our troops" Alfonzo assured

"Then you should go _**help**_ them organize" the Padawan insisted "Like now"

"General Kota said it was ok to come talk to you" the heavy-set solider replied

"Of course he did…" Marco sighed in defeat

"So how long have you been in the militia?" the princess inquired to the two teens

"We both sighed up on Ibar when Kota's troops were stationed there about a year ago" Ferguson answered "Since then we've been fighting alongside Marco from planet to planet"

"Can you believe this, Marco? Were gonna fight alongside actually clones!" Alfonzo commented in excitement

"Maybe we won't have such a big loss like we did on Nar Shaddaa" the portly boy added on

The Padawan's eyes narrowed in discontent at what his friend had just let out of his mouth. The militiaman quickly realized what he had just said and covered his mouth in shock, as if that could take back what he had spoken while the taller solider face-palmed in shame.

"I'm sorry Marco I didn't mean to—"he tried to say

"Look, if you want to tell the princess stories, how about you tell her why you really joined the militia?" Marco harshly interrupted

His two friends hung their heads low in sadness once the Padawan had said that. Star was utterly disgusted by how her bodyguard was treating his so-called friends. Ever since the war had broke out on Mewni, the young princess had been forced to stay on the castle grounds for her own protection—hence why she snuck out more and more often then before. In this time, she had been cut off from other people outside of her parents and the castle servants and away from people her age, leaving her friendless until Marco arrived.

However that was not the case with the young Jedi, he had the opportunity to travel among the stars and see the galaxy, which give him more then enough chances to socialize, and yet here he was, treating two people who claimed they were close to the boy being treated like the plague.

"Yeah, that's what I thought" the young Jedi finished coldly "Now go"

With a stoic nod from Alfonzo, the two militiamen sadly returned to their posts, leaving Star and Marco alone once more, but before the young girl could say anything about what she had just witnessed, a voice spoke up from behind him.

"My, my, that wasn't very Jedi-like" the voice pointed out in cool, yet still patronizing tone of voice

The two new friends turned around and saw a young creature walking up to them. His skin was a pale purple while his hair was black and red with two horns sprouting from them. His three eyes were a dark purple and his teeth where razor-sharp like those of a Gundark. The young man was dressed in elegant black and purple robes that seemed like they where mimicking the fashion of that of the upper-class members of society on Naboo; in fact, they looked very much like Chancellor Palpatine's attire upon closer inspection—save for the different color of the fabrics. Marco noticed a small glower form in Star's eyes as the stranger approached them, obliviously knowing whoever this stranger was and probably not having the best history with him.

"I must say I'm surprised to see you out and about after what happened to you yesterday, my lady" the newcomer said to the girl in a sympatric voice that almost felt like he was rehearsing lines for a play "if anything happened to you, I don't think my heart could take it"

"I'm sure you'd find a way to move on, Tom" the princess replied in a forced polite voice

"I'm just thankful that our young Jedi friend was here to protect you" the creature now known as Tom commented, gesturing to Marco as he did

"Pardon my asking of this, but who are you exactly?" the Jedi in training questioned respectfully, but let some suspicion seep into his words

"Oh silly me, where are my manners" the tri-clops apologized "allow me to introduce myself; I am Senator Tom Largo"

Now that was name that the Padawan had some familiarity with. It was Senator Largo who beseeched the Galactic Senate to send aid to Mewni when Ludo had received his machine army from Dooku, thus leading to Marco and his master to come to this world in the first place. From the stories he had heard from Kota, Tom was the youngest member of the senate and took up the poetical role after his farther had passed away from illness. The young senator was apparently well liked by the people of Mewni despite his monstrous appearance. The king and queen held him in high regard as well—even Palpatine himself spoke very highly of the boy, saying that he was 'a light for the future of the Republic'.

Marco, however, was not swayed by the things said about the young senator, and by the looks of the princess, neither did Star. All the young Jedi saw before him was a big blowhard who was more interested in making himself look good to the galaxy and trying to woo an obliviously uninterested princess in the process. Neither Marco nor Kota held a lot of regard for politicians—save for a few, such as Senator Amidala and Senator Organna, whom they respected as great leaders of their respective worlds. To the master and student, these senators were nothing more then whining children who demanded that the Jedi council keep their lands and laws sacred. But yet when the Separatists came knocking on their door, these senators threw themselves at the peacekeepers feet and begged them to pull them out of a mess the senate itself helped to create on a whole.

"So your Senator Largo" Marco said "Funny, I thought you'd be taller"

"I never thought the Jedi were capable of making jokes" Tom fake laughed with an almost condescending voice "But then again, you are just a Padawan"

It took every fiber of the young Jedi's being not to grab one of his lightsabers from his belt and cut this arrogant politician's lips off. Just then Kota, Tarkin and Star's parents came up to the group of teens, somewhat easing the tension among the three teens.

"Ah, Padawan Marco, I see you've met Senator Largo" the king began "It was because of his call to the senate that you're here with us now"

"Oh please, think nothing of it, my king" Tom thanked, yet Marco and Star could tell he was enjoying the praise "I'm just a friend of the people"

"And humble, don't forget humble" the Jedi in training mentioned quietly to the princess, making her giggle

Tom's three eyes glanced over to the boy and gave him a quick glare, showing that he had heard his comment before instantly returning his attention to the adults.

"So Master Jedi, you will you able to stop Ludo's army?" the tri-clops asked

"It's hard to say right now" Kota answered honestly "But Captain Tarkin and I may have a plan to combat his forces"

"I certainly hope, general" the young senator said in way that almost sounded like a well placed insult

"Will you be staying with us, Senator?" the queen questioned "We would be honored if you graced us with your presence at our home"

"Sadly, I must decline my lady" Tom answered

"But your mansion is to close Ludo's kingdom—it's much to dangerous!" the king reasoned

"And that's why I have to stay there, your highness" the tri-clops countered "I will not run from these pretenders to the throne"

"You're a brave man Tom, your father would be proud of you" the queen complimented

"You honor me, my queen" the senator accepted with a boy of his head "Now I must return to my home, I have so much to do for the future of Mewni"

Before he left, he took Star by the hand and kissed it. Marco clenched his fist in restraint and his eyes became fueled with jealousy. He looked over to Star, who clearly did not enjoy the lip contact from the young senator at all. The Padawan almost breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight, but he stifled it down as he reminded himself of the Jedi code like a mantra in his head.

"Until we meet again, my princess" he cooed sweetly after he broke the kiss from her hand

"That may be some time before that happens" she informed him before mentally adding " _thankfully_ "

With that, Senator Largo departed from the group. Once he was far enough, Star began to furiously wipe her hand that he had kissed against her dress, cleaning away any saliva her had left behind. Her parents gave her a shared scowl of disproval at her actions, but said nothing of it.

"Such a magnificent young man, isn't he?" the king mentioned

"Oh he's certain something alright" Kota replied, hiding his annoyance with the young man as he did

"He's not like how the chancellor described him, that's for certain" Tarkin added on, also cleverly showing his ill-contempt for Tom without the king and queen noticing

It was then that Star spoke up once more.

"Now that that's over with—Marco, can you give me a tour of one of those tank-thingy's" she asked her protector before pointing at the artillery cannon that mounted at the top of the AT-TE "I wanna shoot a few rounds from that!"

"Absolutely not, young lady!" her mother cut in harshly "Your going right back to into the castle this instant!"

"But mom—"

"Now" the queen ordered firmly as she and her husband glowered at the girl

Star hung her head low as a frown formed on her face. She complied with her mother's commands as she began to walk back toward her home. Marco could fell her sadness as he followed behind her, reminding him of the sadness he felt as he dug the graves of his fallen friends. He wanted to just reach out and hold her in a consoling hug, but he refrained from touching her. So he merely kept pace with the girl all the way back to her bedroom.

* * *

Once the two teens returned to the princess's room, Star tossed herself unto her bed in a slumped, landing face-first on her pillows. She wasn't crying, but the Padawan could still sense her sadness.

"For what it's worth Star, I would've loved to have given you a tour of one of the AT-TE's" he offered as a way of making her feel better

"I know you would've, Marco" the normally hyperactive girl replied as she turned her face from the pillow to look at him "But after what yesterday, I'm pretty sure my parents won't let me walk around the castle without having someone watching over me"

"Ahem"

"Ok— _more_ people to watch over me"

"I don't think it'll come to that, Star" Marco reasoned as he sat down on the bed

"Oh really, Why's that?" she questioned as she sat up next to him, clearly not believing him

Without thinking, he then took his hand placed it in her own before giving it a comforting squeeze. Star was slightly surprised by this, but was no less grateful for the gesture.

"Because I won't let anything happen to you" he softly assured her

Star eyes shined with happiness before she reached out and embraced the Padawan in a tight hug. His first reaction was to try to break out of the hug and get away from her, but feeling of the princess against him was enough to forget his Jedi code and his long gone friends for just this moment. Marco hesitantly wrapped his arms around the girl and hugged her back.

"Thank you" she whispered in his ear

After a few more seconds, they pulled away from them each other, allowing Marco to stand back up.

"I'm going to meditate for a bit" he said to her for quickly adding "But if you want anything, just let me know, ok?"

"Yeah…ok" Star responded with a bit of disappointment

It wasn't so much that Marco wanted to mediate again, it was more along the lines that he needed to purge his thoughts of any feelings he was feeling toward Star right now. Just as he reached the door, he heard the young girl speak up once more.

"Hey Marco, can I ask you something" she questioned in an sure tone, not knowing how he would react

"Sure, what is it?" he answered offhandedly

"What happened on Nar Shaddaa?" the girl asked curiously

The Jedi in training said nothing at first; he only looked down at the ground in utter shame of himself as he let out a haggard sigh.

"We suffered a loss there" he finally answered with pain in his tone "…a major loss…"

With that, he left, leaving Star feeling there was more to the battle of Nar Shaddaa then her friend was letting on. But she thought it best not to press the issue, instead she only laid back down on the bed and tried to make the hours pass by from her unsaid grounding by her mother go faster by trying to take a nap.

Strangely enough though, all she could think about was her Jedi bodyguard.

* * *

Unseen by the radar of the Republic ships, a small ship had effortlessly slipped past them unseen by them thanks to its cloaking device. Once it had descended into the lower atmosphere of the planet of Mewni, the craft de-cloaked and flew high in the nights dark clouds until it arrived at were it's pilot was ordered to meet with someone. The only of the ship then landed her craft in an open patch of wilderness among the wild forests of the world.

The owner of the small ship was a young girl by the name of Janna, and her profession was death. The young girl was an assassin by trade that had done some unseen business for the Separatists in the past—for the right price, of course. She was dressed in a suit of flexible black and red body armor that clung to her anatomy tightly and wore a pitch-black helmet and hooded cape for extra effect. Her armor was adored with both seen and unseen killing weapons such as vibro-swords, blasters, thermal detonators and other weapons meant to kill her target with maximum efficiency.

"Ok, this better be worth my time" she called out to the darkness of the forest in bored tone

It was then that a figure dressed in a dark hood and robe approached her from the darkened woods.

"Are the guy I'm supposed to meet?" Janna inquired to stranger

"Yes" the man affirmed "I understand you came highly recommended by General Grievous himself"

"Yeah—because I'm the best there is at what I do" the assassin boasted with confidence "but what I do isn't very cheap"

"Rest assured my dear that you will be paid in full once you've completed your contract" the man said "In fact, Ludo is willing to double your pay if you can pull this off without a hitch"

"Trust me, I'll get the job done" Janna answered "by the time I'm done, there won't be enough pieces of the royal family to bury!"


	4. The Assassin

Chapter Four: The Assassin

It was much later in the afternoon when Kota called Marco out to the castle's royal garden for some private lighsaber practice. Marco knew what this was really about; lightsaber practice was just his master's way of speaking one on one with his Padawan about his feelings. The Jedi in training did enjoy these few moments with his master—even if it got a bit awkward at times when Kota tried to give him fatherly advice and fail at it sometimes. It was not only a great time to talk, but also a great way for the young Jedi to get some stress out of his system in these mock duals with his teacher. Star wanted to tag along and witness the two Jedi training, but her parents had forced her to join a meeting about the increase of security around the castle.

Kota was not like most other Jedi. Unlike most members of the Order, the Jedi Knight believed that one must have some form of feeling in order to strengthen their connection to the Force. He often encouraged his Padawan to talk about his feelings and in turn tried his best to give him fatherly advice without using the old sayings of the Jedi that they had used in the past to try and calm their students.

In the old man's mind, he was solider first and a Jedi second since he was brought to the Order at eighteen years old by Master Windu to be trained as a proper Jedi. He applied his militaristic style of training to when Marco was made his student, teaching him both the ways of war and of the Force. Kota's teaching method was not looked to kindly upon by the rest of the Jedi Order—expect for by a few such as Toffee and Anakin. While he sometimes pushed the boy to his limits, he never once attempted to force anything he felt Marco wasn't up for.

"That's it boy, keep your guard up!" Kota said as he swung his saber at the teen again

"So why did you really want me out here, master?" Marco inquired as he parried his teacher's blade with his two lightsabers

"I just thought could use some extra work on your defensive skills, that's all" Kota replied in mock insulted tone

"Sure you did" his Padawan answered, not buying it for a second

The young Jedi shoved his master back and to continued to dual in silence for a time being with the sound of their blades hitting one another as the only sound in the garden.

"So, I see that you and the princess are getting along nicely" the Jedi Knight finally pointed out during their training

"She's not like any princess I've ever met, that's for sure" his Padawan mentioned in an almost dreamy state as he parried again "She's amazing"

"Oh, is that so?" Kota asked with interest as his blade was once again deflected

Marco quickly caught on to what his master was trying to get out of him.

"Can we change the subject, please?" he asked a tad to harshly "Besides, I want to ask you something?"

"Alright boy, what is it?" Kota allowed with a small laugh at his students laugh

Marco deactivated his lightsabers before he continued speaking, indicating that he wanted to halt their training session.

"Are you taking the troops out tonight?" he inquired in almost melancholy tone

Kota's face softened when he heard that question. Even though he didn't say anything right away, the Padawan already knew his answer.

"Tarkin and I have found out some of Ludo's supply lines" the Jedi Knight explained almost solemnly as he deactivated his weapon "If we're going set of strike points to those routes, the sooner the better. While I take the militia and hit those supple lines, Tarkin will be fighting the bigger droid armies with the clones and Mewni's military under his command"

"I wish I could go with you" Marco said, his head hanging low in shame

"Don't say that boy; your mission is just as important as mine" his master reassured before adding on "Tarkin is going to leave around thirty clones to help beef up security around the castle. They'll be under your command"

Unlike his master who had no love for clones, Marco was personally indifferent to them. The Padawan saw them as necessary weapons to be used in this war, and nothing more. The Jedi couldn't possible maintain order during these dark times on there own, so Marco could clearly see the need for growing an army to aid the Jedi to crush this rebellion, but what he couldn't see was either the need for the clones after the war was over. They couldn't possibly live out normal lives—they simply weren't bred that way; unless the senate had another plan for them. Marco often wondered if the Republic would retire the Jedi's service's and have only the clones to maintain order in the galaxy after the war, it was a theory that kept him weary of both the genetically grown soldiers and the senate itself.

"I should get the troops ready to move out" Kota finished, breaking his student's train of thought "I'll try to stay in contact with you as much as I can"

The Jedi Knight then placed his hand gently on his students and gave him a warm grin to which his student smiled back.

"This is your first step into walking your own path, and I can't wait to see the Jedi you become at the end of it" he said with pride

"Thank you, Master" his Padawan replied, albeit still unsure of himself

With that, Kota turned and began to leave to boy to prepare for the coming battles. Marco still wished to be by his master's side, but he remained at the castle. The Jedi Knight and his student had been almost inseparable since they had been put together by Master Toffee and in that time they shared a strong bond through both the Force and almost as family. They had fought and bled alongside their militia and mourned each soldiers passing together, hoping that they found solace in Force at the end of their lives.

"Master Kota!" Marco called out

The old man turned to face the Jedi in training.

"May the Force be with you" he said to him, smiling as he did

"Goodbye my Padawan, and may the Force be with you as well" he answered confidently

As the Jedi Knight finally departed, neither master nor student suspected that they where being watched from afar.

* * *

Dusk was setting upon the castle as the soldiers set off into the respective directions. As Kota had told his student earlier, the army would be broken up and fight on two different fronts. While Tarkin kept the majority of Ludo's droids occupied in open battles with the clones and the bulk of Mewni's army, Kota would launch a series of systematic attacks at the would-be tyrant's supply lines that would cripple his army.

As much as Marco would've loved to have seen him off, he thought it best if he gave his master some room so that he may mentally prepare himself for the task at hand. Instead, Marco went about setting up where the clones that would be under his command would be stationed during the set up several along the castle walls, two at both the main and back gates, several among certain hallways that could lead to the royal family's rooms and at least six troopers stationed in the east wing where the king and queen slept. He did not post any of the clones around Star, since he had that role taken care of.

He had secretly wanted to see the princess again after spending nearly whole day away from her. The young Jedi's heart rate spiked up slightly as he knocked on the door to her room before stepping inside. Once inside her room, he found her once again trying to make an escape out the window.

"Are you serious?!" he asked as he looked at her in disbelief

"I'm so sick of being stuck here!" Star replied "Don't try to stop me Marco—I've made up my mind!"

"Your room is on one of the highest towers in the castle!" he exclaimed "What? We're you just gonna jump and hope for the best?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?" the normally energetic girl said sheepishly

The Padawan sighed in annoyance, but steadied himself before speaking.

"Look, Star, I know you want to go out on your speeder bike, but this is not the way to do it—at least not like this" Marco reasoned "I'd gladly help you sneak out and tag along in whatever it is you want to do, but can we at least wait until daylight to do crazy stuff?"

The young princess gave her bodyguard an upset look before his reasoning set into her mind. She was glad that Marco more then understood her need to be free and explore and was willing to try it his way—at least just this once.

"Ok Marco" she relented as she stepped back from the window "But I'm holding you to that that promise"

"I'm sure you will" the Padawan commented before changing the subject "So, is there anything you'd like to do around the castle?"

"You mean other then escape? Not really" Star answered bluntly

The princess's eyes then unintentionally trailed down to her protector belt, where she looked at the two lightsabers that where strapped to it.

"Can I hold one?" she asked

"What?" Marco questioned back, confused

"Your lightsabers—can I hold one?" Star furthered, pointing to the Jedi's weapons as she did

A lightsaber was by no means a toy and was meant to be only used by the skilled hands of a Jedi and no one else, and his young friend was by no means careful—that much he gathered in the short time with her. But again, those deep blue eyes and shining smile of hers kept him from saying no.

"Uh—sure" Marco found himself saying "Just be careful, alright?"

He then took one of his weapons from his belt and handed it to Star. Much to her surprise, the hilt was much lighter then she had first assumed. She then switched on the lightsaber and gazed in awe at the purple blade of energy that had saved her life only days earlier. Holding the hilt steady with both her hands, the energetic girl gave a few slow swings around the room, keeping her eyes locked on the blade the whole time. Marco was impressed to say the least at how well she was controlling the blade, he initially feared that she would go crazy and start swinging the lightsaber like a mad woman around her room and slice up everything in sight. The Padawan did see that she was a bit to jerky with her swings and decided to help them smooth them out

"You can't just swing this weapon like a sword or an ax; this is a more refined weapon" he informed her gently as he walked up to her "you need to be swift yet graceful with your swings"

Marco then got behind her and pressed himself against her, making them both slightly blush upon contact with one another. He then placed his arms over hers and gently took her hands into his own, interlacing his fingers with her own as they both took hold of the lightsaber.

"Try to imagine it as if it was apart of your arm" he offered softly into her ear "with each swing, let your mind focus on only your blade, and soon it will feel as though the lightsaber is apart of your very being"

The two began two began to delicately swing the lightsaber in more fluid and precise motions in unison. Being so close to Star allowed him to intake her sweet scent and to truly appreciate the smoothness of her skin. Meanwhile, Star was feeling a certain warmness rising in her chest as she felt her friend's body so close up against her own. It was almost becoming like a strange dance between the two, one that they both secretly wished would not end.

Suddenly, Marco's head snapped away from Star as he stepped away from her. Thinking that she had done something wrong, she deactivated the lightsaber and tried to hand it back to her friend. However, when she turned to face him, she saw him looking out to the front door of her in almost a stunned look on his face.

"Something wrong" the Padawan finally said in a hurry "Stay here—I'm going to check it out"

"How do you know that?" she questioned

"I sensed a disturbance" Marco replied as his tone became quicker "Star, I need you to stay in your room. I'll be back as soon as I can"

Before she could argue with him, Marco had already Force-dashed out of the bedroom and out into the castle hallways, leaving Star alone in her room and still holding his second lightsaber. She placed the weapon in the pocket of her dress before going over to her bed and pulling out her blaster that she kept hidden under her pillow, mentally preparing herself for whatever was coming. She then said a small prayer for her friend, hoping that he would return to her.

* * *

It wasn't until Marco was halfway down the staircase that led into the lower levels of the castle that he realized that he had left his other lightsaber with Star. He hoped that what he sensed was nothing more then a fluke and he could return to the princess's side as soon as possible. He kept sprinting until he reached a pair of clone troopers that where guarding one of the main hallways within the palace.

"Is something wrong, sir?" one of the clones asked their commander

"I want an update on everyone's position, now!" the Padawan ordered firmly

With a nod of understanding, the trooper activated the COMM-Link inside his helmet.

"Sit-rep, everyone" the clone ordered

One by one, each team of troopers reported in.

"All clear on the eastern and western walls"

"East wing is secure"

"West wing is quite"

"Same in the main hall"

"Everything checks out clear on the front gate"

All of the major pioints in the castle were safe, but when the Jedi and troopers waited for a report from the back entrance, they heard nothing.

"Back entrance, what's your status?" the trooper asked

Again, only silence. A feeling of dread grew stronger in Marco's heart as the silence on the other end of the COMM made his senses flare with fright.

"Where are the king and queen?" he demanded

"About to head to the dining hall for dinner, sir" the second trooper answered

"I want a security team to escort them back to their room and kept there until I say otherwise. Lockdown the whole area where their bedroom is located" the young Jedi ordered "I want a team around the princess's room as well and kept under close watch. You two come with me, we're going to check out the back gate"

"Yes Sir!" the two clones complied in unison

As the trooper gave out their leader's orders to the other clones and told them of the current situation, Marco fought the urge to panic at this moment. He needed to keep a cool head if he was to stop this threat from reaching any member of the royal family, especially Star.

* * *

Star knew something was wrong, Marco hadn't returned yet and she was beginning to worry that something had happened to him. She could almost feel the tension in the air, as if she knew that something was coming. The princess then looked down at her fiend's lightsaber in her hand and wondered where he was right now. Was he alright? Was he hurt? She needed to know. So without giving it a second thought, the energetic young girl armed her blaster and made her way to her toward the bedroom door to leave and find her friend herself, but just as Star had touched the doorknob, six clone troopers burst into her room with blaster rifles armed.

"What's going on?!" she yelp out in shock

"Commander Marco has sent us to guard you while he was away" one of the troopers informed her "He believes there's been a breach in security"

That quickly got Star's attention, it hadn't been a full two days since the attack from the commando droids had occurred and now there was the possibility that there was another assassination attempt on both her and her parent's lives. However, if there was another squad of droids—or something worse on the castle grounds, she was more worried about Marco's safety then with her own.

"I'll be fine trooper, I can take care of myself" she told the clone, showing her blaster to him as she did "You should go and help Marco instead"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but these orders came directly from the commander himself" the trooper replied before looking over to two of the clones "you two guard the outside of the room, the rest of us will stay in here and secure the bedroom"

As ordered, two of the clones went back outside to stand guard at the front of the bedroom while the other four stood on guard, waiting to hear back from their commanding officer with hopefully good news.

* * *

Back outside on the castle grounds, Marco and the clones had finally reached the entrance of the back gate, where much to their shock, they found the two clones that where stationed there lying dead in pool of there on blood. Even though he had some misgivings on the clones on some level, the Padawan still felt the weight of their deaths fall upon his shoulders, they were his men and he felt as though he had sent them to die.

"I'm sorry" he grimly apologized to the two clones as he glanced back at them "This is on me"

"They knew the risks, sir" one of the clones stated, his voice slightly melancholy at he looked at the bodies of their brethren "their at peace now"

"If it's any conciliation, they look like they died quick and painlessly" their leader said solemnly as he crouched down to inspect the bodies closer

Using the Force, the young Jedi slowly rolled the body of one of the dead clones over to see a fairly large puncher wound on the back. Marco knew that this had been down by the work of a vibro-blade, but it was not used in the hands of a droid. Had it been a commando droid that killed them, then there would've been more stab wounds as a way to make sure the clones where dead, however, whoever wielded these blades knew where to strike with pin-point accuracy and deadly skill. There was no doubt in Marco's mind that that this was done by the hands of a very well-trained assassin.

"Tell the others that we have a security breach, now!" the boy commanded as he stood back up

But the two clones merely stood there. Before Marco could repeat his order, the clones suddenly fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. Marco quickly took his lightsaber hilt from his belt, ready to activate it at a moments notice. Then standing where the clones once stood, a figure began to materialize before the Padawan. The assassin who appered to be a young girl, who was dressed in a suit of flexible black and red body armor that had a hooded cape draped over her shoulders and had black helmet over her face. In her hands where a pair of bloodstained vibro-swords in each hand, both of which were pointed toward the Jedi in training.

"Stand down, girl" Marco warned darkly before activating his lightsaber to get the point across "don't make me hurt you"

"I bet you say that to all the girls" the assassin remarked with a small laugh "My name's Janna by the way, I like my victims to know who killed them"

"I didn't hear you give your name to them" the Padawan said sharply as he nodded his head at the two clones she had just slain

"Let me rephrase that" Janna rephrased "I only let know the _**cute**_ victims know my name"

"Sorry, not interested" Marco replied

"To bad" the assassin sighed in mock disappointment "And you can just a pretty face too"

The second she had said that, Janna lunged at the boy with her blades at the ready. Marco blacked the swords with his vibro-blades and parried them before Force-pushing the assassin backwards, but she quickly recoiled and charged again. The two warriors clashed blades once more. With every strike, they two young fighters blocked each attack in quickened pace, as if they were in sync to one another's movements. Knowing that her vibro-swords could only stand so much punishment from her opponent's lightsaber, she jumped back and thrust out her arms toward the Padawan, firing out small razor disks from a set of wrist mounted launchers. Marco held out his hand and deflected the oncoming disks away from him.

Once she had stopped firing the discs, the young Jedi lunged at the young assassin. Janna quickly upholstered a pair of blasters from her belt and opened fire while she kept moving backwards, but with each blaster shot, Marco bounced it away with his lightsaber. Seeing that it was useless to keep shooting, she put away her blasters and activated another weapon on her gauntlet: a built-in flamethrower. With one press of a button, the assassin unleashed a volley of flames at Jedi in training. Marco quickly held out his hand and put up a Force barrier between him and the flames. He struggled to move forward as the fire licked his face as he put everything he had into his barrier. When he was close enough, he held up his lightsaber and was ready to strike down his enemy, but then, Janna switched off the fire and instead ducked at the last second from the blade of energy that came down on her.

Upon missing his swing, Janna delivered a powerful kick to Marco's belly, making him double over in surprise pain and drop his weapon in the process. Before Marco could get out his not deactivated lightsaber, the assassin kicked it aside and punched him across the face. Undeterred by the temporary loss of his weapon, the Padawan Force-pulled Janna downward right into a fist of his own, making her head rattle inside her own helmet upon impact with his punch. He kept up the assault by jumping back to his feet with a powerful roundhouse kick that struck the already dazed Janna across her well protected face.

Janna let out an angry growl as she rebalanced herself and unsheathed a pair of small knives from under her wrists and began swing them furiously at her enemy, which he evaded each and every wild thrust that came his way. Marco then swiftly reached out and grabbed hold of the upper parts of one of her wrists and began to twist, hold her other arm back with his free arm. He continued to twist, ready to ready her arm like a twig; all the while his seemingly helpless opponent cried out in suffering as she could feel her arm ready to snap at any second.

Suddenly, a burst of electricity erupted from Janna's suit and rushed into Marco's body, making his body seize up in blinding pain. As he tumbled to the ground in agony as the currents danced through his anatomy, the assassin stood over him with a smile of sly victory from under her helmet. She then drew her one of her vibro-swords once more and pointed the very tip and Marco's face.

"Was it as good for you as it was for me?" she darkly joked before continuing on "now normally I'd kill you here and now, but I'm something of a schedule right now and you've made me late as it is. So I'm just going to kill the princess tonight, then come back and finish you off before I leave, and then take out the king and queen tomorrow night. In the mean time though…"

Janna impaled her sword through the young Jedi's thigh, digging the blade so deep that it piereced the other side of his thigh and jammed itself into deeply into the dirt under him. The indescribable pain forced a scream out of the Padawan so loud that the entire castle heard it.

"Stick around" she finished

The last thing Marco saw before his vision blurred out was Janna scooping up his lightsaber and attaching it to her belt before fading into seemingly nothingness in the dark.


	5. No Ordinary Heroes

Chapter Five: No Ordinary Heroes

Marco's scream was indeed heard by almost everyone within the castle. From the western halls, to the rooms where the servants slept when their service wasn't required, even to the king and queen room the Padawan's death cry was heard and almost felt by everyone within the halls of the palace. Among those who had heard the scream was princess Star, whose heart felt like it had stopped beating when she heard the boy's final cries.

Even though she had only just met the young Jedi, she had already considered him a good friend none the less. She looked back down at the lightsaber in her hand; the very lightsaber only hours ago he had let her use and gave her a short lesson with. A tear rolled down her cheek as she clenched the fallen Jedi's weapon tightly in her hand.

" _No!_ " Star thought defiantly " _he's not dead—don't even think that!_ "

She looked around the room at the clones the four clones who where currently standing guard over her. She approached one of them with anger in her heart.

"Hey you!" she nearly shouted as she pointed at one of the clones "Yeah you! Tell your men we're going out there to find Marco!"

"I'm sorry princess, but we can't—"the trooper tried to explain

"Yea, yeah, yeah I know!" the hyperactive girl cut him off "But you heard that scream—he needs our help!"

"We can't let you leave ma'am or leave you unprotected" the clone affirmed

"Well can you at least tell someone to check on him?!" she exclaimed at the clone's helmeted face "he could be dying out there and none of you are doing anything to help him!"

The clone paused for a few moments, taking in the girl's orders before activating his helmet's COMM-link.

"To any available troopers, I need someone to check on the commander's status immediately" he ordered

However, rather then receive any sort of respond, the only sound to the clone and to the rest of the occupants in the room was the sound of static.

"Come in—can anyone here me? Please respond at once" the clone demanded into the COMM "dammit, something's jamming our communications!"

That instantly got the clones and the princess's attention. Not only had their only Jedi on the premises had been possibly killed, but now they where cut off from the other clones within the castle—if they were still alive that is. Both the troopers and Star charged up their blasters and waited for whatever was going to come their way, not letting their fear cloud their judgment. However, unlike the cloned warriors, Star herself didn't feel fear, only the need to avenge her friend.

" _I wish you where here Marco…_ " she said to herself mentally, as if her words would somehow be able to summon the young Jedi to her side

* * *

Pain.

That was the first feeling racing through Marco's body like a flood as he finally regained consciousness. His memories of his loss to the assassin named Janna filled him with a sense of shame that rivaled the agony that he was currently feeling. He looked down at the vibro-sword that was still lodged in his thigh, the very source of his pain. Fighting through urge to blackout again, Marco raised his hand and tried focus his mind in an attempt to Force-pill the blade out his leg, but he barely moved an inch of the sword before his nerves screamed at him stop.

Marco laid back flat on the ground in a defeated slump. His weapon was gone, he had gotten four men dead—and more then likely more—on his first night as their commander and now he was laying on the ground waiting for the assassin to return to finish what she had started. Failure was something the young Jedi was accustomed to. He remembered back to a time when this familiar failure had visited him before back on Nar Shaddaa where he was unable to defend the soldiers under his command from being slaughtered at the cold steel hands of a general who still haunted his thoughts to this day.

As he prepared to admit defeat and wait for his death, his mind traveled back to the image of Star. He knew that Janna would kill her no matter how hard his friend fought back. It was at that moment that he denied defeat the pleasure of overtaking him as he pulled himself up and took hold of the vibro-sword with his own hands this time. The Padawan clenched his teeth and braced himself for the amount of pain he was about to feel before yanking the blade out of his leg in one swift pull.

Acting quickly as his blood gushed out of the wound, Marco ripped off one of the sleeves to his tunic and wrapped it tightly around his thigh, holding the injury together for a short time until he properly heal his wound with proper medical attenion, but right now, all he could think about as one thing: saving Star.

So with vibro-sword in hand, he hurried as fast as his injured leg would allow him to reach the girl's room, hoping he wasn't too late.

* * *

The air in Star's room was filled with a tension that could snap at any given second. With Marco gone and cut off from reaching the other clones, the young girl and the six clones were alone until someone came to find them. No one said a word—what could they say? There were no words that anyone could think of that could lighten the mood. However, that was the mindset of the clones and not that of the princess's. She had to talk, not just to ease some of the tension, but to keep her mind off the thought of her young Jedi friend possibly lying dead somewhere.

"Hey…" she asked one of the clones in slow voice "can I ask you something?"

"Of course, ma'am" the clone replied

"Don't take this question the wrong way, but I just wanna know: how do you guys tell each other apart?" Star inquired

The clones looked at one another in silence, as if they thought she was telling them a bad joke. Then the one she was talking to turned his attention back to her.

"We just do" he answered plainly

"Do you all have names?" the energetic girl questioned further, now really interested

"We have serial numbers that are given to use when we're born on Kamino, but we do have regular names so our commanders can tell us apart" the trooper explained as his mood lightened slightly "For instance, I'm Razor, that's Tops, that's Whiz, that's Thunder and the two guys outside are Tweedledee and Tweedledum"

"That's not our names!" one of the clones outside shouted through the door

The group broke the uneasy tension with a collective laugh at the clone's joke, making everyone feel almost at ease in light of their current situation.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Razor" Star friendly greeted

Before Razor could reply, a loud _thump_ was heard just outside the bedroom, making everyone jump in surprise. Both the clones and the princess aimed their weapons at the door. Star gave one last thought look at the lightsaber hilt in her hand before putting it down on her bed and taking hold of her blaster with both hands. Razor was just about to call out to the two clones outside when he saw something leaking through the bottom of the door: blood. Star held back a gasp, but on the inside, she was instantly put on edge. She had never experienced death before and tonight she feared she would see its fury tenfold by the night's end.

Just then, the door to her bedroom slowly creaked open, making everyone raise their blasters in anticipation for whatever was about to step through it. After several agonizing seconds of waiting for something to burst through the door, Razor gestured to Whiz with his head to check it out. The clone stepped outside with his rifle at the ready and checked both ends of the hallway before checking the obvious condition of the two troopers. He looked back at the other and shook his head solemnly, letting them know they had passed.

Suddenly, Whiz let out a quick shriek of horror and pain as the blade of a vibro-sword pieced through his back on out his chest. The clone's killer then de-cloaked and allowed herself to be seem by her soon to be victims. Without even thinking, the group quickly took aim and opened fire on the assassin. The intruder used the vibro-sword to level the clone's dead body and hold it up in front of her, using it as a human shield as she bolted into the room.

Once she was close enough, the assassin dropped the body and cut down thunder in one strike. In the blink of an eye, Janna drew her one of her blasters and put three shots into Tops's chest, killing him instantly. She the then aimed her disc-launcher at Razor and fired a single disc into his neck, taking him down in one shot. In just under thirty seconds, she had left Star alone with just her and pile of fresh corpses.

"Hello, princess" Janna greeted softly "My names Janna, and I'll be killing you tonight"

As she spoke, Star noticed something very familiar clinging to the assassin's belt: Marco's other lightsaber.

"You like it?" the young killer asked as she noticed what her prey was looking at "I picked it up as a little trophy after I killed that cute little Jedi"

Star's whole world seemed to freeze once she heard that. Her very fears held true, he friend was slain and she was unable to save him. With a rage-filled cry, she raised her blaster at her friend's killer and opened fire. Janna effortlessly evaded the blaster shots and kick the blaster out of her opponent's hand, sending it across the room with one hit. Before she could make her next move though, Star tackled the assassin to the ground, knocking the vibro-blade out of her hand as she did and began punch her repeatedly in the face, despite the fact that Janna was wearing a helmet. The supposed Jedi-slayer shoved the blonde of her person and drew out her wrist-blades. She jumped back up and swung her knives at her target, cutting Star's elbow with one strike.

But the princess was undeterred by the cut and kicked the young assassin in the chest so hard it sent her stumbling back into the wall. Not wasting this opportunity, Star grabbed one of the chairs in her room and smashed across Janna's side. The young killer wiped out her blasters and attempted to gun down the girl, but the hyperactive princess swung what as left of the chair across her enemy's out stretched hands, knocking both guns out of her grasp.

"You're…pretty…good" Janna panted out through her helmet

"I've been taking self-defense classes from the castle guards since I was three" Star informed her darkly "I bet you thought this was going to be easy, didn't you? You thought I'd just beg for mercy like other princesses. Well I've got news for you bitch—I'm not like most princesses and I'm gonna kick your ass across the galaxy!"

The two girls let a war-cry in unison as they charged at one another. Star punch Janna in the stomach, but her attacker almost instantly recoiled and punched her across the face. Janna kept up the attack by grabbing a mound of Star long hair and holding her steady so that she may pummel her face repeatedly until Star caught her fist mid-punch and kneed her in the stomach, making her let go. While Janna stumbled backwards from the hit, the princess ran over to her bed and snatched up Marco's second lightsaber, igniting the second she held in her hand. The blonde then charged at the assassin ready to cut her down in the name of her friend and clones she had slain.

Though still trying to get her bearing after her most recent hit, Janna took hold of the lightsaber and activated it just before Star's blade could touch her, blocking it with her stolen weapon. The Assassin's struggled to keep her enemy's blade from reaching her face, but Star poured every once of anger-fueled strength into her arms and pushed her lightsaber toward the other girl's helmet. With once strong push, her energy blade cut through the eye-piece of the helmet and into the assasin's skin underneath it, forcing a pain-fill shriek out of Janna's mouth.

The assassin shoved the princess back before yanking her helmet, revealing a brown-skinned girl with short brown hair. A fresh lightsaber scar was still burning bright on the cut over eye. Summoning all her rage into arms, she began to unleash a flurry of powerful strikes at the girl who had marked her. Star did her best to block each swing, but soon she lost her grip on her hilt and her lightsaber went flying across the room. Before the princess could make a mover, Janna grabbed her by the throat and slammed her on to the bed.

"Go on…scream!" she growled as she readied her stolen blade to bring down on Star's torso "Call for help—no ones gonna save you now!"

Suddenly, a powerful blast of invisible energy slammed into the assassin like a bulldozer, sending her right into the wall and pinning against it. Star turned her head to see someone she had thought had perished. Standing in the doorway with his hand held out to hold Janna against the wall, was none other then Marco. Cuts and bruises littered the Padawan's face and Star could see fresh blood leaking out of a fresh wound his thigh. His face was stone cold as his brown eyes locked dead on to the girl who had tried to kill his friend.

"Marco!" she breathed out with relief as she ran up to him

She embraced him with loving hug that he leaned into. He then saw the beating his friend's face had taken and his spark of anger turned into a wildfire inside him.

"How dare you…" he said in a low tone as he looked at Janna "HOW DARE YOU!"

Letting go of the vibro-sword in his hand, he used the Force to levitate into the air before shooting it off like a missile that impaled itself into Janna's right hand. The young Jedi then used the Force to lift her other blade off of the ground a ram into her other hand, crucifying her to the wall with her own swords. Star only gasped in horror as Janna screamed in the same agony she had left Marco in only a few hours earlier before passing out.

"Marco, stop—please stop!" she begged him

Marco saw the fear in Star's eyes at his actions and felt ashamed of himself by his actions. He pulled the swords out of Janna's hands and let her fall helplessly to the floor in a defeated slump. He then Force-pulled his two lightsabers back to his hands and placed them back on his belt, feeling a sense of completeness as he did. The young Jedi then looked back at Star with a saddened expression on his face.

"I'm so sorry Star" he choked out "I failed you"

"Don't say that" she gently told him "you saved me"

"But I couldn't save them" he continued sadly as he looked at the dead bodies of the clones

Before Star could console him further, the king and queen and a squad of clones burst into the room.

"What the hell is going on here!" the queen demanded

She then saw her daughter's face and that's when she got really fired up.

"How could you let this happen?!" she shouted in the Padawan's face "You were supposed to protect our daughter, and not even one night you couldn't even do that right!"

"That's enough mother!" Star cut in as she got in front Marco "Marco couldn't have know this was going to happen and it wasn't for him I'd be dead now!"

"Don't defend this—boy, Star!" her mother shot back "He's unfit to even call himself a Jedi!"

"Is that so?" Marco commented darkly as he stepped forward "Well then, I guess I'll just take my clones and leave you all unprotected for the next assassin that Ludo sends to kill you off. Is that what you want? Because aside from Star, I could hardly give a Wamp rat's ass about you two"

A stunned silent fell over the king and queen, clearly taken aback by the Padawan's words. Star stifled a victorious smile as she watched her friend knock her parents a few notches. As much as she loved them, even she had to admit, they could be a real pain in the ass more often then not.

"That's what I thought" the young Jedi concluded before looking over to one of the clones that entered the room "Take the assassin somewhere we can keep a close eye on her"

The clone compiled before he and another clone picked up the bested assassin by each arm and dragged her out.

"What you going to do with her?" Star asked, afraid to know the answer

"I'm going find out what she knows" her friend replied stoically

* * *

Janna slowly awoke to a new set of surroundings. She was inside a cold, dark concrete cell that's only light came from the moon that shined through a small barred window. He weapons, blades and other tech had been removed from her person and she was held standing up in the center of the room with her arms held upward by a pair of chains that where attached to the ceiling while another pair of chains held her legs in place by her ankles.

"You know, when the king and queen told me that they had an old dungeon at the bottom of the castle, I didn't believe them" a familiar voice spoke normally, as if he was having a casual conversation

It was then that the Padawan stepped into the cell. He was carrying a bucket of water in one hand that he set down next to him.

"But yet here it is—a real life dungeon" he continued as he admired the room "You don't see many of these things these days unless you pist off a Hutt. Most people just send off their criminal's off-world to spend the rest of their days on a prison a barge or an iso-cell"

"So is this part where I'm supposed to be scared?" Janna asked sarcastically

Marco's eyes narrowed at her as his expression darkened.

"No, this is where I get answers" he replied in cold tone

There was a silence on Janna's end for several seconds. Then a low chuckle escaped her mouth that soon rose into a full blown fit of laughter.

"Oh, this is too funny!" the assassin laughed out "You think that you—a Jedi—can scare me? You're nothing but a bunch of peace-loving monks!"

At first, the Padawan said nothing. Instead, he only carefully examined the assassin's face, as if he was studying her for some sort of weakness. Even though she knew he wouldn't do anything to harm her because of his Jedi code, she still couldn't shake an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"You know, you remind me of a Muun my master and I captured on Nar Shaddaa" he began casually, like he was telling her a story

The young Jedi then began to circle around her, making her uneasy feeling rise up into her whole body

"He thought that because we where Jedi, that no harm would come to him" he continued on his tone dropping a bit as he walked around her "But what that Muun didn't realize is that my master and I view ourselves as soldiers first and Jedi second"

Marco then stopped him he was in front of her once more, narrowing his eyes into a scrowl in her direction once he did.

"That Muun was the reason several militiamen that where under my command were killed—no—butchered by General Grievous on that very day!" he shouted before his voice became more somber "including someone very close to me…"

His head hung low as he gazed sorrowfully at the ground beneath him. Suddenly, his head snapped back up to look at her with a brighter—even almost psychotic—look on his face.

"So" he continued with his story with a clap of his hands "It was suffice to say that I was in a bad mood that day, and it just so happens that this Muun had knowledge of certain supply routes that were vital to the separatist army on that world. But like I said, he didn't want to tell us because he thought he wouldn't be harmed. But, he was wrong...so wrong"

Marco then called on the Force to make the water from the bucket he had brought in to rise into the air. With his other hand he used the Force to pry open Janna's mouth before sending the levitated water down her throat and hold it there while he kept her jaws shut and her nose closed through the power he used. Janna's eyes bulged as the water that was trapped in her throat began to suffocate her from the inside out. Her head thrashed about as he tried with all her might to force her mouth open, but it would not budge until the power of the Force.

While the assassin thrashed about from her torment, Marco then held up a fist and started to channel the Force already surging within him into his closed hand. With one powerful punch to her stomach, he released his invisible hold on Janna's mouth, making her vomit up the water along with what she had eaten from the night before to the ground.

"War changes us, my friend" he inform darkly as he stepped away "It's amazing what the Force can really do to someone when you want to get some answers"

"Y-you can't do this!" Janna shouted in a panic "You're a Jedi!"

The Padawan gave her a monotone look at her after she said that before he walked up to her until he was face to face with her. The Jedi in training then leaned his head down as he started to pick at something in his eye. After removing whatever it was, he kept his head down as he showed Janna the object: a brown contact lens.

"Like I said, war changes us" he said

Marco pulled his head up for Janna to see his face once more. She gasped in horror at what was now looking back at her.

A dark yellow eye.

The eye of a Sith.

"And as you can see…" Marco furthered "I'm a very changed person"


	6. Monsters Among Us

Chapter Six: Monsters Among Us

Normally Marco would be either meditating or practicing his saber-training in the confines of his room, but right now he was locked in his room's bathroom doing something just as important as either of those things: putting on his make-up. Due to the Force corruption his body was started to feel the effects of, he had to conceal his physical changes from the world around him. He kept his anger in check and hid his corruption well from both the Jedi Order and the world around him. He put on contacts to cover his eyes, brown color make-up to cover up his paling skin and dye to breath new life into his whitening hair, though the Force corruption ate away at any attempts to hide his true self from the world around him, Marco had to do his best to keep the truth buried under his façade, for he knew the Order would banish him from their teachings and label him a monster.

The Padawan was no Sith by any means, but just because he didn't' use the power of the dark side didn't mean his body was safe from being corrupted by the Force. He knew that the more he gave into his anger and used it fuel his power during certain times, the more he would eventually wear away until he was nothing. But this was a war he was in, and in wars one must sometimes put the needs of the many over his own well-being to see to it that those many could live on in peace. So if he had to either die or be driven mad by the Force in the name of countless innocent throughout the galaxy, then he would gladly do it.

Just as he was finished with applying his disguise, his holo-player in his pocket began to ring, indicating that he had an incoming call. The young Jedi had an idea as to who was calling him and took out the device and activated, showing a small hologram of his master looking back at him.

"Before you say anything about what happened last night, let me just say that I take full responsibility master" Marco began

"What about last night, boy?" Kota asked in confusion "I was just calling to check up on you"

Marco mentally cursed himself for his stupidity. He had no choice now but to tell his teacher about the assassin he faced and clones he had gotten killed during the attack, as well as nearly letting the princess be slain as well.

"Like I said master, I take full responsibility" Marco repeated after telling him after everything

"Marco there's no way you could've known this going to happen. Don't beat yourself up about it" Kota said "What happened to the assassin?"

"I've got her locked up in a dungeon below the castle under close watch" his Padawan replied

"Has she said anything?" the Jedi Knight asked

Marco thought back to his time with Janna after he had captured. He spent four long hours using all sorts of methods of torture to get the answers he wanted out of her. However, she kept up a strong spirit throughout all the pain the young Jedi subjected her to, but he could feel her resolve weakening by the moment. It would only be a matter of time until Marco would get the answers he wanted.

"Not yet, but she will" he finally answered

Kota looked at his student closely; he didn't need to be told what the boy had meant by that.

"Just don't go too far, Marco" he advised "Remember what I taught you: your emotions help you as much as hurt you"

"I know, master" Marco acknowledged

"How are you feeling by the way?" Kota inquired as he changed the subject "Has the corruption gotten worse?"

Kota was the only one who knew of the Force corruption taking hold of the teen. Unlike other Jedi who would condemn their Padawan and cast them out of the Order, Kota didn't blame his student for what was happening to him. This was a war they where in, a war which did horrible things to such a young man's mind and forced him to take certain actions. The Jedi Knight helped hid his student's corruption from the rest of the Order and made sure that he kept Marco on a steady path; for while the older Jedi learned to mix his emotions with the use of the Force, his student was still young and had to be pulled back from the darkness from time to time.

"It's not so bad" his Padawan commented in an unsure tone "I haven't felt any new changes recently"

Again, Kota looked him over as he inwardly judged the weight of his student's words before speaking again.

"If you say so, boy" he finally said

"So what should I do with the assassin?" the young Jedi asked

"Keep interrogating her until she tells you what she knows" Kota ordered "We know Ludo's the one behind this, but I can't help but feel there's more to it then that"

"What do you mean?" his student questioned

"That assassin attacked the castle shortly after Tarkin and I left with the army. Meaning she had to have know when we had left" his master explained "Either she was extremely lucky or—"

"There's a mole in the castle" Marco finished in realization "What should we do?"

"For right now, let's just keep it between us" his teacher "The mole could be anyone and we could easily tip off whoever it is"

"It can't be the clones; their programmed for loyalty" Marco surmised "and none of our troops would turn on us either"

"So it has to be someone working at the castle" Kota said "I'll try to send you some back-up when I can"

"No master, you need everyone if your going to hit those supply lines" the Padawan defended "I'll get the assassin to tell me who this mole is"

"She may not know who it is" the older Jedi reasoned "Remember Marco, she's just a hired killer, not a die-hard Separatist"

"That doesn't mean she might not know what's going on" the Jedi in training rebottled

"Just don't let your emotions cloud your judgment, Marco" Kota warned "If she doesn't now anything then leave her be until I return, understand?"

"Yes, master" Marco acknowledged

"Be safe, my young Padawan" the Jedi Knight offered "And may the Force be with you"

"And with you as well" his student answered

With that, the small image of Kota switched off. Now Marco was very on edge, how could he not sense a mole when he first arrived? Was his mind so clouded that he couldn't detect such deception right away? Or was it something else? His mind was so rattled with questions that he almost mentally blocked out the sound of his guestroom door being knocked on. He pocketed the holo-player and went to see who was at his door, though he already had a good idea as to whom already. Sure enough, it was none other then the princess, who greeted him a smile as always.

"Good morning, Marco" she greeted "How's your leg?"

After capturing Janna, Marco was treated for his injuries; namely the wound he received from the assassin's blade to his leg. He was given a bacta pact by one of the clones before he went off to begin his interrogation the hired killer. Through the Force Marco continued to heal his wounds, and though he was still in pain, he continued to press on and ignore the soreness.

"Still hurts, but I'll get over it" the Padawan shrugged off

"Are you sure?" Star asked with concern "Because I can have the royal physicians take a look at you and—"

"It's ok Star" her friend said in an assuring tone before changing the subject "Now, what did you want?"

Although the princess wanted to help the Padawan further as a way of further thanking him for saving her life, she knew that she was going to get nowhere with trying to make sure he was ok and instead moved onto the other reason as to why she had come to his room.

"I was about to hop on my speeder bike and go for a couple laps around the backcountry" she said "You wanna join me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Nope!"

"I thought so" the young Jedi sighed in defeat "Alright, let's go"

* * *

Despite Marco's misgivings about leaving the castle after back-to-back assassination attempts, he couldn't help but somewhat happy at the thought of spending some alone time with Star and hopefully out of harms way. As they walked, Marco inwardly wondered if he should tell Star about possibly traitor in her castle. He wanted to keep her safe, but he feared that if he did tell her that it would only upset her. Besides, as of right not it was only a working theory he and his master had. So for now he would keep this to himself until he was absolutely sure that there was a traitor among them.

"Something on your mind, Marco?" Star asked as they walked through the castle halls

"What? Oh nothing" he lied "Just thinking about…stuff"

"Oh, what kinda stuff?' his friend inquired in fascinated voice "Jedi stuff?"

"Yeah Star, Jedi stuff" the young Jedi replied

Soon enough, they two friends had finally reached the castle's hangar where came upon a sight that made Star's blood boil. What they found was several of the castle's servants dissembling her speeder bike and tossing the parts into a pile.

"What do you think your doing?!" the clearly angered girl demanded as she stormed up to them "Who told you could just take apart my bike?!"

"We did" came a firm female voice in response

The princess and the young Jedi turned around to see none other then her parents and Senator Largo approaching them.

"You're not leaving this castle again, young lady" her mother ordered "And we've made sure that you'll stay put"

"So you just take apart my bike and keep me locked up here?" Star snapped back "in case you haven't noticed mother, the bad guys have tried to kill me in here more then they have out there!"

"With all due respect your majesty, but I can watch over your daughter wherever she goes" Marco reasoned "She's safe with me"

"She wasn't safe with you last night!" the king accused "If you hadn't arrived when you did, my daughter would've been dead!"

"It wasn't his fault dad!" Star defended

"Of course it wasn't, princess" Tom agreed "But he is just a Padawan, not a true Jedi yet. He still has much to learn"

"Excuse me senator, but my status as a Jedi has nothing to do with what happened last night" Marco said sharply, trying to hide his offense "the assassin caught me off guard, that's all"

"And it was because of that mistake that the princess's was nearly killed" the young senator pointed out in an almost snide tone "I don't mean to sound rude, but this is a matter we cannot take likely"

Marco kept up a calm face, but on the inside he was livid. He hated that since he was still a Padawan people seemed to think he was still too inexperienced to handle certain matters. Sometimes it seemed that only Kota—and now Star—treated him with any amount of respect for his abilities.

"So what are you suggesting, senator?" he asked

Before Tom could even say so much as one word, Star cut him off.

"If you're even thinking about separating Marco and I—don't" she warned "He's saved my life twice, and he's the only friend I have around here"

The three political figures looked at one another in silence, obviously knowing that the girl had grown attached to the Padawan and were going to be unable to send him away without upsetting her. It was then that the tri-clops changed the subject unto something else.

"The king and queen informed me that you managed to capture the assassin" the senator began "I'd like to see the women who dared to harm the princess—and you of course"

"She's being locked up in a prison senator, not a petting zoo" Marco informed him sharply "I need to keep her under close watch until I get some answers out of her"

"Or until you kill her" Tom mentioned "Like you did with your last P.O.W"

A collective stunned silence fell upon the royal family after Tom had said that. Marco narrowed his eyes at the young senator who looked back at the Jedi in training with total superiority in his eyes.

"Oh yes, I know all about that little fiasco. You didn't think I wouldn't do back ground checks on your and your master, did you?" the tri-clops said smugly before continuing on "During your time on Nar Shardaa, you and your master captured a Muun by the name of San Hill who was the current chairman of Damask Holdings within the Banking Clan. After several hours of a private in interrogation from you both, Hill was found dead in his cell with bruises covering most of his body"

Marco remained quiet as his head hung low. Star gasped in shock at the story she was hearing, was Marco truly capable of doing such a thing? True he was a Jedi and she trusted him with her life, but after seeing his anger unleashed on the assassin, the princess couldn't help but take into consideration that her friend could be able to do something like that.

"Though I suppose that is to be expected from someone like you" Tom furthered "After all, you were born on Sorenno, we're you not?"

Again, shock filled the Butterfly family. Not only had they heard that the very person that was in charge of guarding their lives had a possibly murdered someone, but was also born on the same world as the leader of the Separatists was.

"It seems you know a lot about me, senator" Marco conceded as his head slowly rose up "however, I think your missing some very important details"

Tom once more tried to say something in response, but he was once again cut off.

"Fist off, Hill received those bruises from our militia when he resisted them during his arrest. They had to beat him down just to get the cuffs on him" the Padawan began firmly "Secondly, yes, Master Kota and I did interrogate him, but he died of a heart attack, not because of us"

The young Jedi marched up to Tom with a fierce look of defiance in his eyes, showing no sigh of backing down from this battle of words.

"Furthermore, senator" he continued as he stood eye to eye with him "Just because I was born on the same world as Dooku, doesn't mean I'm anything like him"

The tri-clops backed down—figuratively and literally—from the Jedi in training as he spoke. Star was once more amazed by the commanding presence Marco could give. For someone so young, he certainly knew how to hold his ground with just his words alone. However, the hyperactive girl still felt a bit uneasy about the new information about her friend's life, something he should've told her sooner.

"So the next time you want to try insult me in public, do me a favor and get your facts straight" Marco finished

"My apologizes, Master Jedi" Tom offered with a bow of his head "It seems I've spoken out of place"

Marco glanced around to see that Star and her parents were all looking at him to see what he would do next. He could almost see the fear in Star's eyes as she looked at him. The Padawan wanted to see the young senator squirm a bit more, but he already felt he had been made to much of a pariah as is was, so he back to show forgiveness—as was the way of the Jedi.

"I…accept your apology, senator" he finally conceded

Without another word spoken, the young Jedi walked away back to his room. Star stood in place for a short time, wondering if she should follow her friend or not. After last night's rescue, the princess did have a sense that there was something dark residing underneath Marco's normally calm demeanor. But Star wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt; after all, he had saved her life twice and was the only person who treated her with any respect. So without giving it a second thought, she quickly ran after him.

"So why didn't you tell me that you were born on Sorenno?" she asked sharply

Marco turned his head to face as they continued to walk in order to answer her.

"Because it's something I don't like to talk about" he explained "Like I said: just because I'm from the same planet as Dooku, doesn't mean I'm like him. But most people just hear the name of the planet at they instantly assume I'm a monster like him. Hell I haven't been on that planet since the Order took me away from my parents when I was an infant—and that was years about the war broke out"

The boy had a point, just because one person did wicked things and made a whole populace look bad, didn't necessarily mean that everyone was like that one person or the whole they were apart of. They had to be people not just on Sorenno, but also other on the other CIS controlled world that felt like they were being ousted as the villains because of the actions of certain parties. This line of thinking made Star wonder if there were members of Ludo's army that felt the same way about this war for the planet.

"I'm sorry about my parents and Tom" Star apologized "That wasn't fair to you"

"Its fine Star, it's not your fault" Marco assured her "Besides; as much as they talk, they'll never replace me or my troops"

"Still you shouldn't have to just stand there and take those insults" Star argued "You're a Jedi—they should be thanking you for just being in the castle"

"That's not the Jedi way" the Padawan pointed out "In any case, I'm just glad to serve you, my lady"

Star tried her best to stifle a blush at his comment, but failed miserably. Her blush made Marco mimic her reaction, forcing him to look away before she could see his red cheeks. It was becoming harder and harder to be around Star and not hide his steadily growing feelings for her. If last night wasn't enough of an indication that he cared for more the girl then just a friend, then he was skirting on the edge between his loyalty to the Jedi Order and his feelings for Star.

"Have you ever thought about going back there?" his friend asked "to Sorenno I mean"

"Sometimes" the Jedi in training replied "From what I've seen from Holo-recordings at the Jedi Temple, it looks like a beautiful place"

"Maybe when the wars over, we can go there" Star offered before quickly changing her words "Uh, I mean—if you want me to tag along that is!"

Marco couldn't help but chuckle at her flustered antics.

"Yeah Star, I'd like that" he said as he gently took hold of her hand "I'd like that a lot"

* * *

Two failed assassination attempts were two to many in Ludo's book. First Dooku's commando droids were destroyed and now the assassin that he had hired was captured and being held prisoner in the castle. Toffee advised him to cut his losses with Janna and focus on the upcoming war, it was advice that he took into consideration. According to the fallen Jedi, Rahm Kota was brilliant tactician and usually fought his enemies in hit and run maneuvers to cripple much larger opponents. Willuf Tarkin was also a force to reckoned with, and now that he had both Clones and Mewni's army under his command, he stood out as a considerable threat to the tyrant's machines soldiers. Toffee suggested that while he leads the droids in grand-scale combat against Tarkin from the safety of the shadows, Ludo should strengthen his defenses along his supply lines.

Currently, the would-be king was pacing back and forth in his private bedchamber with only his right-hand man Buff Frog standing at attention. Ludo was waiting to hear back from a bounty hunter that came highly recommended from his contacts in Black Sun. It was time to change tactics—for now he would have to hold off from the assassination attempts since the royal family was clearly too well protected to kill at the moment. Instead, it was time to focus on the upcoming battles between his droids and Tarkin and the Jedi's receptive forces, and to do that he needed a warrior who was more then capable of slaying someone like Kota.

"Lord Ludo, I've been thinking" Buff Frog suddenly spoke up "Do you think we've gone to far? I mean allying with the Separatists? That's something you swore would never happen!"

Ludo halted his pacing and narrowed his steely gaze at the man-frog, who gulped in fear of his master's reactions to his words.

"It was a necessary course of action, Frog" he informed him darkly "If we are to finally take back our home from these so-called 'Mewnians' and reclaim what is rightfully ours"

"But Toffee is—"

"Toffee is more concerned with trying to find the crypt then trying to help us" his master interrupted "For now we'll just keep pretending like we're a bunch of misbegotten rebels under the rule of idiotic leader until otherwise"

"But what if he finds the relic, my lord?" Buff Frog questioned "He could steal its power and use it on us!"

"Its just as far out of his reach as it ours" Ludo assured "Besides, once we find it—neither the Jedi nor the Sith will be able stop me!"

Just then, the Holo-player suddenly projected the image of the bounty hunter Ludo was trying to reach came into view. It was a hulking eight-foot tall figure dressed in full body armor from head to toe. Ludo and his servant could see all sorts of weapons attached to his armor from blasters to thermal detonators. The figure looked down on the small leader through his skull like helmet, waiting to see what offer his potential client had for him.

"I understand you're a…man, of sorts, that can deal with the likes of Jedi" Ludo began "Well it just so happens I have a Jedi problem here on Mewni that I need help with. Kill him, and I'll pay whatever number of credits you want"

The bounty hunter stood there without saying a single word, as if he was silently judging the amount of truth behind the small tyrant's proposition. Finally, he gave Ludo a small nod in acknowledgment, letting him know that he agreed to the terms.

"Excellent!" Ludo couldn't help but cheer "Pleasure doing business with you, Durge"


	7. My Ally is The Force

Chapter Seven: My Ally is The Force

The night was slowly giving way to the dawn as droids marched through the dense Mewnian forest. The small platoon of machines consisted of mostly standard battle droids and several super battle droids to reinforce the weaker models. This particular small platoon of machines objective was to safeguard an important cache of weapons back into their territory. As the battle droids marched through the dense forest, they careful scanned the surrounding area with their optics sensors, making sure they were not wandering into a trap.

As the droids moved further into the woodland area, their route led them into a small gap in the road with stone ridges on both ends. The mechanical guards cautiously moved through the path between the ridges, arming their blasters to open fire at the drop of so much as a falling leaf. Even though the battle droids lacked any emotions, they could almost feel a sort of sense of dread deep down in their circuits as they marched onward through the pathway.

While they moved along the path, they were unable to detect the Jedi Knight and his militia hiding among the trees and brushes along the two ridges; waiting for the perfect moment to spring the trap. Kota eyed his troops as they awaited his order to strike; they getting antsy, and where ready to pull the trigger at any given second. But the Jedi did not fear his ambush being ruined by a single soldier's eagerness. Even though a vast majority of his militia came from planets and homes ravaged by the Separatists and would love nothing more then to slag some droids, they served their general loyally and would only move on his command.

Once the patrol was dead center of the small canyon, Kota activated his lightsaber and let out a battle cry.

"For The Republic!" he shouted

A flurry of blaster bolts rained down on the battle droids as the Jedi Knight leaped down into the patrol group. The machines where in a state of disarray as Kota's emerald blade cut down their numbers left and right while his men pummeled them from above. With his Force speed, he easily dashed past the waves of blaster bolts from the disoriented machines, cutting them down as he darted through them.

As their general was down the ground, this militia continued their assault on the droids from atop the two ridges. The now panicking machines where divided between the militia above them and Jedi that was running among them, unable to hit either. Kota's men made sure not to hit him by mistake as he zipped across the battlefield and gave him covering fire whenever he needed it.

In no less then ten minutes, the small droid platoon was reduced to nothing more then parts for the scrap yard by the time the militia was through with them. To the Jedi's troops, this was there standard form of attack; let their enemies unknowingly travel into an area where they think is safe to traverse, and then box them in with a flurry of blaster bolts while their great leader charged into battle with lightsaber in hand and the Force by his side.

As the soldiers emerged from their hiding places and jumped down from the twin ridges to join with the Jedi general, Kota had already began to secure the Separatists supplies. He ripped open one of the crates and revealed to his men the weapons within it to his troops.

"Geez..." Alfonso said as he and the others looked upon the weapons "look at this stuff. Neural disruptors, Durasteel piercing rounds–even anti-tank thermal rockets!"

"Good thing we hit this supply line when we did, boss" Ferguson mentioned to Kota "I do not want to be on the receiving end of any of these things!"

Kota remained remain silent; he was deep in thought at the moment. Despite the victory he and his troops had just achieved, the Jedi Knight still felt something wasn't right; why would Ludo have such a small group of droids guard such high-grade weaponry? And furthermore—why risk moving them out in the open like this?

" _I've got bad feeling about this..._ " he thought to himself

Just then, Kota felt a sudden disturbance in the Force. It was brief, but he could feel a sudden rush of darkness around him. He reignited his weapon once more, instantly putting his troops on edge, knowing that their leader's powers had alerted him to danger. The Jedi's militia quickly took up defensive positions wherever they could find it. Kota held his weapon close and squeezed his grip on it.

The air around the area that once held a victory for the Republic had instantly become tense with anticipation. The soldiers charged up their weapon in preparation for whatever was coming their way. After several tense minutes, the Jedi and his troops heard the distant sound of the engine of a swoop bike not to far away from where they were now. The sound of the engines grew louder by the passing second, putting the militia on edge with each passing second.

Just then, they spotted slowly oncoming figure racing toward them atop the very bike they had heard. As the newcomer drew closer, they could see that it was a large, hulking figure dressed in pale blue armor; it didn't take a Jedi to know that this stranger meant to do Kota and his militia harm. Before the Jedi Knight could even give the command to open fire, the militiamen unleashed a blaze of blaster fire at their new adversary.

Before a single blaster bolt hit him, the armored man leaped from his bike as he activated a jetpack on his back, letting his bike speed out of control and right into the lines of the soldiers, killing at least two as it raced into them. The newcomer then pressed a button on his wrist, triggering the bike to explode and take several more militiamen with it in the blast. A wall of blaster fire fired upward at the armored giant, attempting to shoot him down.

The giant then activated a pair of wrist mounted shields—this coupled with his incredibly thick armor made him a very hard target to bring down. Before the giant could do any more harm to his men, Kota reached out through the Force and took hold of their mysterious attacker and hurled him into the ground below, creating a large dust cloud upon impact.

As the dust cloud began to settle, the Jedi and his a few of his militia men slowly approached the area where their new enemy had crash landed. Suddenly, the giant erupted from the dust cloud without hand thrust forward, grabbing one of the soldier's by the neck and snapping it in one quick motion before tossing the now dead militiaman aside. Kota's troops opened fire again, only for the giant to reactivate his wrist shields and begin to deflect the blaster bolts back at the Jedi Knight and his soldiers. Kota deflected the blaster bolts away from him with his lightsabers while his troops fell back for cover; though some where not so lucky to reach a hiding spot. Even though they outnumbered the hulking brute, the Jedi general knew that his militia was clearly outmatched by the newcomer and that they would only up this beast's body count even more.

"I'll hold him off, get back to the base!" the general commanded to his troops as the giant advanced toward

"But general—"Ferguson attempt to say

"That's an order! Go!" Kota shouted back as he Force-pushed the giant backwards

Despite wanting to stay behind and fight alongside their leader, the soldiers did as he commanded and quickly pulled back from the surrounding area, soon leaving only the Jedi and his adversary behind to continue the battle alone. The hulking giant recovered from the surprise hit a silently strode over to his enemy until he was standing only a foot away from him.

"Big, mean and probably ugly under all that armor" Kota said mockingly to his opponent "You must be Durge"

The bounty hunter let a low snarl at the mention of his name.

"I've heard some pretty nasty rumors about you here and there" the general continued in slyer tone, knowing he had gotten under the giant's skin "Personally though from what I've heard, I think you're a bit overrated"

The armored assailant's response to that was slamming both his fists down on the Jedi Knight's head, only to hit the ground when his opponent jumped out of the way and Force blasted him again. But this time Durge was ready for the attack this time. He braced himself and flexed his muscles tightly within his armor as he held his ground against the powerful blast of Force energy. The bounty hunter his drew out a pair of blasters from his holsters and opened fire on the Jedi.

Kota's lightsaber blocked the hail of blaster fire as he quickly attempted to circle around, only for his enemy to keep pace with his movement and continued to fire upon him. Channeling the Force through his body, Kota carefully took aim with his weapon and hurled it like a boomerang toward Durge, slicing the two blasters in one clean strike before returning to the Jedi's hand.

The second his weapon was within his grasp, the general darted toward the bounty hunter in a blaze of blinding speed and attempted to strike down his opponent once more. However, just like before, Durge was ready and switched on his wrist shields yet again and blocking the green blade of energy. The giant kept pace with the Jedi's quick and near-precise swings, blocking every swing of his lightsaber. Relying on the Force once more, Kota quickly used its power to pull away one of Durge's arms away from his body, giving him the opening he needed to impale his blade through the giant's chest.

The whole world seemed to stand still as the general's weapon was through the bounty hunter's body; it was as if the planet of Mewni was in total awe of the Jedi's maneuver. Just as he was about to unsheathe his blade from Durge's chest, a low almost synthetic chuckle began to resonate from the giant's helmet. Kota's head shot up in confusion and saw the bounty hunter looking back down at him as his chuckle became a full-on blown fit of mocking laughter.

In a flash Durge's fist smacked the Jedi across the face with a surprise right hook, forcing him to let go of his lightsaber that was still imbedded in the giant's chest. Durge kept up his attack by deviling a series of quick yet to strong blows to Kota's face and chest. While the Knight was dazed he reached out and took the old warrior by the neck and choke-slammed him into the ground.

Even though his armor was strong enough to take in most of the blows, Kota was still in a considerable amount of pain. He tried to get back to his feet, but the bounty hunter boot pinned him down to the dirt. He could feel Durge apply more pressure through his leg and down onto his chest, trying to crush his rib cage. The Knight had to think of something fast, he could already feel one of his ribs snapping under the bounty hunters foot .Gathering up as much strength as he could, Kota blasted Durge in the face with a huge amount of Force energy; sending him flying high into the air. Durge quickly activated his jetpack once more to correct himself before landing several feet away from the general.

"I bet you thought that just because I lost my lightsaber that I couldn't fight" Kota smugly surmised as he staggered back to his feet "Well that's where you'd be wrong; for my ally is the Force—and I'm about to show you what a powerful ally it is!"

Reaching out with the ancient power, Kota raised his hands into the air and levitated a pair large boulders that where imbedded in the earth before hurling them at Durge with the speed of a lightning bolt. Durge managed to punch away one of boulders at the last second, but not the second as it slammed into his torso and sent sailing backwards right into the side of ridge. The bounty hunter pushed the bolder off of his person just in time to see a third bolder slam into him.

Kota called upon the Force with all his might as its energy began to emanate around his body in a blue mist around his person until he fired the blast of Force energy straight at his opponent, shattering the side of the ridge upon impact with the bounty hunter. While Kota was almost certain that this time he had put down the giant, he kept his guard up in case his adversary still had some fight left in him. At this point, Kota was exhausted. He had spent up his strength with that last assault and inwardly dreaded another round with this monster; and his cracked rib was making it difficult to breathe.

Suddenly, a massive arm punched through the rubble. Durge soon slowly rose up from the pile of stones, breathing heavily as he did. His armor was now covered in dents and cracks, leaking out pink slime as well. Kota knew that despite the damage to his suit looked serve, Durge himself was more than likely ad a lot of stamina to spare. The Jedi had to finish this know or he would be one with the Force sooner then he wanted to be.

The bounty hunter raised his right arm and fire a volley of darts from a wrist mounted gun. Kota shot his hand outward and blocked the incoming darts with his Force barrier, sending them flying different directions. With his darts rendered useless, Durge switched arms and activated his wrist-mounted flamethrower, launching a wave of fire toward the wounded Jedi. Once again, Kota's Force barrier protected him from any harm, but his wounds were making him lose his focus and he could feel his shield waning with each passing moment.

With everything he had, he reached out with the Force again and crushed the giant's flamethrower, casing it to explode. The general then channeled the Force into his legs and darted forward—right in into Durge's way. He quickly ducked a swing of the giant's fist before reaching out and yanking out his lightsaber from his enemy's chest and slice off the arm that had nearly hit him. Before Durge could make another move or even grasp the pain he was in, the old Jedi swiped his lightsaber across the giant's torso, cutting him in have win one clean strike. The bounty hunter collapsed in a pile of severed body parts; dead before he even he hit the ground—or at least, that's what it appeared to be anyway.

Kota stood over the pile of body parts of his fallen foe, taking in sharp, ragged breaths as he did. After standing there for nearly five minutes, Kota was certain he had ended the brute's life. Normally, Jedi would leave is fallen opponent in peace—but Kota was by no means a normal Jedi. He spit a mouthful of his blood on to Durge's facemask before turning to walk away from the corpse; deactivating his weapon as he did. As he strode off, he received in incoming transmission in holo-player. He switched it one to show a small image of Alfonso standing there.

"General Kota, are you there?!" he asked in a panic

"I'm fine, kid" he assured "I took the bastard down; I'll be back at base camp soon"

Alfonso nodded before switching off his end of the transmission. Kota had never encountered such an adversary, but thankfully through his faith in the Force and his skills as a solider, he had managed to overcome this seemingly unstoppable juggernaut. No doubt the council would an update on their situation; especially after this mess of a mission. He then began to muse about as to how he and his troops had wandered into this trap in the first place. The general thought of multiple theories in his head, but he always went back to the biggest and most obvious one.

" _There really is a traitor among us_ " he finally mentally surmised

Kota needed to get in contact with Marco right away so that they may pull their resources and discover who was secretly serving Ludo. While the Jedi general was wrapped up in his thoughts and was to far enough away from his newly slain foe, he failed to notice Durge's body begin to pull itself together through thick tendrils of flesh from within his armor.


	8. Know Your Enemy

Chapter Eight: Know Your Enemy

As the sun slowly climbed over the horizon and into the sky, Marco had already been up since before dawn; training with his lightsabers and honing his technique in the royal garden. He had to keep his mind open and clear as he used the two blades in different movements and yet still make them feel as one to him. To Marco, this was much more therapeutic to him then his meditation—though he knew that was just as essential as this. He also needed these sessions to keep up his strength while his leg was still healing. Usually, he would be either training alone or alongside his master, but today he had very special spectator observing his skills.

When Star woke up to find Marco leaving his room to train, she instantly invited herself to watch him wield his lightsabers, and like before, the Padawan couldn't say no to the girl. Now she stood several feet back from where the young Jedi was practicing with his blades, watching every swish and swipe of the purple beams of energy with great interest. Marco's movements were quick and precise with each stance he took, treating both weapons as though they where one in the same. However, the boy's lightsabers weren't the only thing she was taking interest in at the moment.

Before he even activated his weapons, the boy had stripped off his cloak, shirt and tunic. He told the princess that he preferred to train with most of his cloths off since his saber style was very taxing on his body and liked to be as cool as he could during his lightsaber practice—plus, he hated getting sweat all over his tunic. As Marco trained, Star got more then an eyeful of the boy's well-built muscles. While he wasn't absolutely ripped, the young girl had to admit that fighting battle droids and other enemies of the Republic had given the Padawan some rather impressive muscles. Sometimes Star's gaze would drift away from the young Jedi's weapons and toward his well-toned chest and abs.

"You mentioned you use a lightsaber style" the princess mentioned as she tried her best to look at his face and not his body "which one do you use?"

"Mainly Jar'Kai, with a little bit of Juyo and Ataru mixed in" Marco answered as he interlocked his sabers and began to train with his saberstaff

"Oh cool" his friend said before quickly adding "I have no idea what those are"

"Here, let me explain" the Padawan began as he continued with his training "My main style, Jar'Kai, is the use two sabers and making quick and powerful strikes with them"

"What made you go 'I wanna use two things that could cut my hand off!'?" Star questioned jokingly

"I guess you could it say was because of Master Toffee" Marco replied "He was a master of Jar'Kai—maybe _the_ master of the style. He even once dueled Master Windu to a draw in a sparring match"

Star made an impressed whistle at that. She heard stories of the great Jedi Master Mace Windu and his spectacular skills with a lightsaber. For someone to dual the likes of him to a standstill was truly a mighty warrior in her book.

"He sounds like quite the Jedi" the princess commented

"Yeah, he was…" the Jedi in training answered, hiding his sadness in his voice "He was the Jedi who found me on Sorenno and started my training before introducing me to Master Kota; who was once his student"

Star noticed that her friend had talked about the Jedi he idolized in a past tense, but decided not to ask as to how he died; for the way Marco sounded when he spoke of him, his passing must have been recent. Just then, the two teens heard a beeping sound resonating from Marco's clothing that he had hung upon a tree branch in the garden. The princess strode up to the young Jedi's clothing and reached into his tunic, pulling out his holo-communicator. Star switched it on to reveal an image of the militiaman known as Alfonso before her.

"Princess, I need to speak to Marco right away!" he said with panic in his voice "It's an emergency!"

The Padawan was close enough that he could hear the young solider. He deactivated his blades and walked over to the girl; who wordlessly handed him the device. Marco could sense an aura of uneasiness and fear from around Alfonso—already giving him the notion that this wasn't going to be good news by any means necessary.

"What is it, Alfonso?" he questioned, hiding his concern under his voice

"We were ambushed, Marco" the militiaman replied "Some bounty hunter hit us hard and fast. General Kota managed to fight him off, but he's pretty banged up"

Marco's face instantly changed to one of pure shock. He then felt a wave of guilt fill his heart as he mentally scolded himself for not being by his master's side in the midst of war. Star was also worried for the general's safety. He seemed like a kind man and it felt like he was the only person among the Republic aside from Marco who truly wanted to her people for more then just petty political reasons.

"I'll be at the camp soon, I just—"Marco attempted to say

"I'm sorry Marco, but the general said that you are to remain at the castle and closely guard the princess" the young solider interrupted, a hint of melancholy slipping into his words as he said them "In fact, I'm not even supposed to be telling you about what happened, but I felt like you needed to know"

Marco was feeling a mixture of guilt and helplessness take over him. He wanted to see both his master and his soldiers in person, but he knew he couldn't leave Star unguarded—not after that the near-death experience they had in their fight against Janna. Before he could say or do anything else on the matter, Star suddenly spoke up.

"Well I know what we're doing!" Star informed her protector in a sing-song voice "We're gonna pay your master a visit"

"What? No! I was ordered to keep you here!" Marco objected

"No, _you_ were ordered to stay here, but I can go if I please" the hyperactive girl said matter-of-factly to him "So if you wanna keep protecting me, then you'll have to follow me all the way to Kota's camp"

At this point in their friendship, Marco knew there was nothing he could neither do nor say that would sway the girl's mind once it was set on something she wanted. He knew that she only wanted to reunite with his teacher and father-figure and see how he was really doing—the old warrior had a tendency to sometimes lie to the students about the severity of his injuries. And so, with a defeated sigh, he gave a nod to the girl as a way of silently telling her that he was in.

"Awesome! Just give me one sec, kay?" she told him before running off

Marco tried to ask what exactly she up to before had taken off. Since they had become friends, it still flabbergasted the Padawan that the princess was so willing to risk her life without a care for herself like she had done when she gunned down that commando droid or when she stood up to Janna. But this time was different; she wasn't doing this for herself, but for Marco instead. The girl had grown on the young Jedi in their time together.

She was wild and loud and yet kind and caring as well. Marco knew that she would one day make a great queen, his only regret that he would no be able to see her become said queen. It wasn't just that he wanted see the princess more, but also a part of him wanted to be more the friends with her. But the Jedi code forbid such things, for they must selfless if they were to truly serve the both the galaxy and the Force.

" _But you know that's a lie_ " the young Jedi inwardly scolded himself " _It's not just the code that's keeping us from getting any closer to Star_ "

In that moment, his mind coldly reminded him of a time her cared for someone like that and where they ended up. After losing them the way he did, Marco vowed that he would never get that close someone again. But the princess made him feel something he hadn't been for awhile now: alive.

The young Jedi's train of thought was suddenly derailed when he heard the oncoming sound of an engine speeding toward him. In a matter of seconds Star zoomed up to the Padawan on top of a swoop bike.

"Ok, let's get going" she said with a smile

"But I thought your parents disassembled your bike?" Marco replied, confused

"I tend to wreck a lot of bikes, so a have plenty to spare" Star informed him before patting the seat behind her "Now hop on before anyone sees us"

"Uh, maybe I should drive since I know the way to the camp" the Jedi in training offered sheepishly, not wanting to be seen riding in the back seat

"Oh just get on, y'a baby" the hyperactive ordered, knowing his aversion to riding

With a grimace, Marco climbed unto the back seat and wrapped his arms around Star's waist, making them both blush at the contact between them. Star hit the thrusters and sent the bike flying toward the outstretching forest behind castle, making her friend's hold on her waist even tighter as he buried his face in her blonde hair. He didn't really need to, but he was enjoying the closeness to the young girl. Star could feel Marco hiding his face in her hair and couldn't help but let a small grin form on her lips. This may be as close as they could get without the Jedi code getting in the way, so she took what she could get.

* * *

It wasn't until high noon that the two teens finally reached the militia's campsite. They dismounted the swoop bike and preceded to go inside once the spotters in the trees gave them the go ahead. It was a well-hidden base that as surrounded by many of Mewni's dense trees. Tents where closely put together in rows for each solider to sleep in. The would stop and salute to Marco who saluted back to them, while others would bow to Star before going on with their duties. Star noted that the soliders among the militia were not just human men and women, but also other males and females of other species such as Twi'Leks, Wookiees, Aqualish, Devionans and many other races among their ranks.

As the walked through the camp, they past a large medical tent that housed several of the wounded soldiers who had survived the surprise attack from the bounty hunter, as well as cover the ones that sadly did not. Marco looked away from the bodies while Star couldn't help but see look at them. It made her remember what Kota and Marco's soldiers where here in the first place for: to save her peoples lives, even at the cost of her own.

Soon, they reached a large tent where Alfonzo and Ferguson were standing at attention in front of it—that is until they saw Padawan and the princess walking up to them.

"Marco?!" they help in surprise in unison when they saw the boy marching up to them

"Move. Now" he ordered sternly, ignoring their words "I want to see Kota"

Rather then try to stop, the two militiamen stepped aside and the general's student head toward the tent. Star was about to enter the tent alongside her friend, but he suddenly put his hand in front of her to stop her in her tracks.

"I need to speak with my master in private" he said "wait here, ok?"

Rather then argue about it, Star nodded in understanding before Marco went inside the Jedi Knight's tent alone. Once inside the tent, the Jedi found his master just sitting up from his bed. His armor was off, revealing a series bandages that where wrapped around his chest. His was badly bruised and his nose looked like had been reset.

"What the hell are you doing here, boy?" Kota scolded "I told you to stay at the castle"

"I heard what happen and came to see you, Master" Marco explained "They said a bounty hunter did this, was it Cad Bane?"

"Humph, I wish" the Jedi Knight grunted "It was a big ugly brute named Durge"

Marco had heard that name whispered from time to time from among drunkards in several spaceports throughout the galaxy, but nothing concrete. All the Padawan knew was Durge was a hulking mass of merciless muscle that loved killing his targets with maximum pain. If a monster such as Durge was working for Ludo then things on Mewni had just become more complicated.

"What do we know about this Durge guy?" the boy asked

"Not a lot and what we do know isn't anything good for us" Kota answered "I spoke with the Council before you arrived. They said that Durge is a Gen'Dai and has been selling his services to the Separatists for quite some time now"

"But I thought the Gen'Dai were a peaceful race?" the Padawan commented

"Yeah well apparently he didn't get the message" his master told him before continuing "As a Gen'Dai, Durge can regenerate from almost any injury—that includes those from a lightsaber. I cut that son of bitch up in our fight, but if I'd have known what he was then I would have sliced him up even more"

"So he's still alive then?" Marco surmised, a small chill running up his spine as he did

"Unfortunately, yes" the general confirmed "And there's something else"

Kota quickly looked around the tent, as if they were being watched before bringing in his student closer to him.

"I think you were right" he said in a low voice "There is a traitor in the castle"

As much as Marco was glad that he was right, but this wasn't exactly the situation to be proud of.

"No one knew about our raids on the supply lines except those inside the castle" Kota continued

"What are we going to do, master?" the young Jedi

"Like I told you before, we need to keep this between us" the Jedi Knight explained "You need to find Ludo's spy secretly; you can't tell anyone in the royal court—not even the princess"

As much he hated to keep even more secrets from his friend—the biggest being his true self, he knew that this was war and certain steps needed to be taken to achieve victory.

"I understand, master" Marco answered with a bow of his head "What are you going to do until then?"

"I've got to keep it as though I haven't caught on yet" the Jedi informed him "See if you can get anything out of the assassin, but don't go overboard"

The boy knew exactly what his teacher had meant by that, and he wasn't having any of that. As much as he saw Kota like a farther-figure, the old man knew how to get under his skin whenever he brought up his mistakes on that fateful day on Nar Shadaa.

"Or what? She'll die?" the Padawan said with aggression in his voice, feeling chastised "If we lose one assassin so a world can be free then so be it!"

"Marco, I didn't mean it like that" Kota tried to sooth

"Then what did you mean?" Marco snarled "You just can't let me live it down, can you? What I did on Nar Shadaa saved the rest of our troops that might've ended up like my platoon!"

"That's enough, Marco!" his master snapped "You can't keep beating yourself up like this! What happened that day wasn't your fault!"

"Then stop making me feel like it is!" the young Jedi shouted in his face

The general stood his ground in front of his student, but his face was not that of anger; only one of understanding and forgiveness. Marco's rage subsided as he took a step back. He suddenly realized that his hands had subconsciously gone to his lightsaber hilts during the argument.

"I…I'm sorry, master" he apologized with a respectful bow

"It's alright, boy" Kota replied "But you better get back to the temple before the king and queen find out their daughter is missing"

With another bow, Marco left the tent and stepped back outside to find Star eagerly waiting for him.

"So what did you guys talk abo—"she tried to ask

"Let's go" he coldly said her as he put his cloak's hood up

Whatever they had discussed, Star instantly knew that it was nothing good. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but decided to wait and ask him later and followed him back to the swoop bike before riding back to the castle.

Back inside the tent, Kota thought over the argument he and his Padawan just had. It wasn't like the boy to turn on him so quickly—and reach for his weapons like he did. The Jedi allowed his student to feel emotions and didn't want him to be what he considered where mindless cultists like the other Jedi, but what he had just felt was pure rage coming from the child. He was never the same after the massacre of Nar Sahdaa and Kota feared that his Force corruption was finally taking its toll on him.

"No, he hasn't turned to the dark side…" he assured himself "not yet…"


	9. Outpost 44

Chapter Nine: Outpost 44

Once the two teens returned to the castle, Marco stormed back into his room without so much as saying another word to Star or anyone else, leaving his friend alone for the time being. The princess was growing worried of her friend's darkening attitude. After his argument with his master, Marco remained stoically silent on way back to her home; even ignoring her questions as to what had transpired between the Padawan and his teacher. She had seen him lash out before during their time together, but only when it was to protect her. However, the young girl was quickly starting to see that Marco's anger was seeping more and more to the surface everyday.

She wanted to help her friend in anyway she could, but in order to do that she had to get to the source of his anger, and if she was to do that, she needed answers. As fate would have it, a pair of Clone Troopers past her in one of hallways. It was in that moment that an idea came to the princess; there was only one person who could help her Marco's behavior better then anyone: his master.

"Excuse me, trooper" she asked, making to clones stop "But can I borrow your holo-communicator?"

"For course, princess" the trooper replied "But for what?"

"I need to speak to…a friend" Star lied

The clone simply nodded and handed his communication device to the girl, who quickly took it and rushed back to her room after thanking the solider. Once she was inside the privacy of her bedroom, the hyperactive girl switched on the holo-communicator and in no time she saw a small image of Rahm Kota looking back at her.

"Princess Star, this is a surprise" the Jedi said with a respectful bow of her head "I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon, is something wrong?"

"There kinda is, General Kota" Star admitted "Ever since we came back to the castle, Marco's shut himself off from everyone; including me"

Kota cursed a few inaudible words under his breath before speaking to the Mewian once again.

"Don't worry princess, he's just upset that he's not out in field with me" Kota explained "He'll get over it soon enough"

Star knew a lie when she heard one—she had said enough of her own to her parents to pick up on when someone was speaking falsely to her. What did surprise her however was the fact that a knight of the Jedi Order was the one lying to her.

"But there's more to it then that, isn't there?" she insisted tensely "There's something your not telling me"

A solemn look overtook the general's face, already telling the young girl that she proven right. It was then that she thought back to earlier in her time with Marco when some of his former friends and Senator Tom had mention an event that the Padawan refused to talk about. Star had a strong feeling that whatever was wrong with her friend that his darkened outlook began there.

"General Kota, I want to ask you something" she began "What happened on Nar Shadaa?"

Kota looked at her in surprise, clearly not expecting to be asked that question. At first the princess thought that he would attempt to change the subject or not answer her question at all. But instead, the Jedi Knight only let out a hollow sigh before speaking.

"You have to understand your highness that this war has taken its toll on Marco as much as it has the rest of the Order; maybe even more so" he started in a more gently yet still forlorn tone "He's seen and done things that no child his age—Jedi or not—should be subjected to, and I think the real breaking point for him was Nar Shadaa"

Star didn't like where this conversation was heading, but if she was to help Marco, then she had to find out the truth.

"Please…" she asked as she help back her fears "Please tell me what happened"

Kota inhaled and exhaled as he composed himself for what he was about to tell the girl.

"Almost a year ago now, Macro and I were tasked to keep back the invading Separatist army that was taking control of the planet" the Jedi began "Our forces had been stationed there for three months, and every day was a fight to just survive. We lost a lot of good troops in that time, some of which had been with us since the formation of the militia"

It was stories like these and what was happening on her world right now that harshly reminded here who much the galaxy had been torn asunder by this war. Thousands if not millions of peoples lives and families where being destroyed on a daylily basis in a conflict that rivaled the great wars between the Jedi and the Sith in the days of the Old Republic with seemingly one end in sight.

"During one skirmish, we lost contact with a vital outpost that we had set up in the heart of one of the planet's cities" the general continued "I was preparing to lead the bulk of our forces into a direct assault on a Separatist base, so Marco offered to take a small platoon to check things out…and that's when all turned to shit…"

"How many people did he lose?" Star questioned

"Almost everyone" Kota informed her "But there was one person who died that day who Marco will never forget…"

* * *

 _ **Nar Shadaa, the past…**_

The rained poured down onto the now ruined city streets as Marco and his team moved swiftly from building to building for cover from any enemy sniper's that may be roosting somewhere nearby as the made their way toward out post forty-four. The outpost was really the remnants of a bank that Kota's militia used as make-shift base of operations. Outpost forty-four had missed its regular check-in with the Jedi general, making him grow suspicious. However Kota was currently occupied with the big move against the Separatist base on the city limits, Kota put his faith in his young Padawan to take a small group to find out why the outpost had gone dark.

The group Marco had put together a group consisted of fifteen soldiers in total to join him in this mission. He had hand-picked these fifteen men and women that he had fought alongside with on many battlefields on different planets, knowing he could trust them in the middle of a firefight. The first people he had chosen where his two closest comrades in the militia, Alfonzo and Ferguson, a duo that had yet to let him down and stayed by his side even in the toughest of situations.

The other members ranged from battle-hardened soldiers that had been part of Kota's militia since day one and others who had recently sighed on, but the rookies where more then ready to prove themselves to the Jedi commanding officer—even if he was still a Padawan. There were not only a few other humans, but also a Weequay, two Twi'lek's, an Aqulish, and a grizzled Wookie by the name of Brracka.

And then there was the team's second in command, Corporal Jackie Lynn Thomas…

Jackie was an orphan from Bespin who signed on to the militia when Kota's small fleet was refueling at Cloud City and recruiting any able body men and women for the cause so that she could leave the mining colony behind her. She first proved herself on the battlefields of Turkana and quickly rose to the rank of corporal after saving the lives of ten other soldiers; a feat that impressed the Jedi general and his young student. In the following months, Marco and Jackie fought side by side against waves of droids and seemingly impossible odds. The young woman impressed the Jedi in training with her quick wit and strong resolve and the young girl was enamored by the Padawan's bravery and selflessness. It was no surprise to anyone when the two became…closer.

While the Jedi code strictly forbid such things, Marco's master allowed his student to feel love toward the corporal; believing that the while he was a Jedi, he was also not some mindless machine. Even though he could tell Jackie about his feelings for her, Marco thought it best to not confess to her such things, for he feared that if he did tell her that it would make their military life even more complicated then it already was. So for now, he kept quit about his attraction to the young corporal and vowed to always watch over her until the time was right to tell her.

"We should be about thirty feet from the outpost, commander" the corporal informed the Jedi

"Good. Stay sharp everyone" Marco informed his troops before looking back at Jackie "Stay close to me, ok?"

"Don't I always?" she playfully cooed, making the boy smirk and blush

Through the Force, Marco sensed the area around them in order to detect any disturbances and warn of possibility of a trap. Once he felt nothing, he gave a nod to his soldiers and gave them the go ahead to move on. The team sprinted out of their hiding spot and quickly the front of the partially destroyed building. While the rest of militiamen keep their blasters trained on the surrounding streets and buildings, their commanding officer knocked on the front door.

"Outpost forty-four, this is Commander Marco Diaz; open up!" he ordered

No response.

The silence was enough to tell the young Jedi that the worst had befallen the troops that were stationed here. He kicked open the door and quickly ignited one of his lightsabers before entering with his troops closely behind him. The team rushed up two flights of stairs inside the building before reaching the bases HQ. The lights inside of base where off, but even with the little light they had, the group could see the bodies of their fallen brothers and sisters strewn across the outpost.

"They…they didn't stand a chance…" Ferguson said in horror

Marco said nothing; instead he only clenched his fist in anger at the sight before him. These were good soldiers who by the looks of it where attacked in the middle of the night when most of them where resting. The attack was quick and brutal with no trace of who had come for them in the middle of the night. Almost as if she could sense his silent rage, Jackie placed a hand one of the Padawan's in an attempt to try and sooth his fury. Marco turned to look at the corporal, letting his anger fade in the process.

"Are you going to be ok?" she asked softly

"Yeah…" he replied, despite it being a lie "We need to find out who did this"

He then faced the rest of his soldiers.

"Fan out. Find any survivors if you can" he told them "Or least any clues as to what happened"

The young Jedi's group nodded in a collective understanding before looking over every inch of the outpost for any trace of life or hints to what happened the moment the outpost fell under attack. In that time, Jackie looked over one of the militiaman's bodies in order to determine what exactly had killed him.

"This doesn't make any sense" she noted as she looked over the body "He's all twisted up, but these markings don't match any sort of blaster fire I've seen"

"It's because they weren't made by a blaster" Marco corrected "These where done by a lightsaber"

A cold chill ran done Jackie's spine when she heard that. Even though she had seen Marco cut down hundreds of droids in battle, she had never seen the weapon used on a being of flesh and blood before.

"Who could've done this?" she questioned "Ventress maybe?"

"Ventress is a lot of things, but brutal isn't one of them" the young Jedi answered "I'd say this was Sora Bulq's doing if he hadn't been killed by Master Vos awhile back"

"Maybe it was that Savage guy that General Kenobi and Skywalker fought?" Jackie theorized

"No, he's gone dark" her commanded officer "besides; I'm not sensing the dark sides hand in this at all. It's like whoever killed these men wasn't Force-sensi—"

Then like a lightning bolt, the answer struck them. Who else could wipe out a squad of well trained soldiers with the skill and accuracy of a lightsaber? Marco drew his other weapon and ignited it as well while Jackie armed her rifle, knowing who had slaughtered their brethren and who may yet return.

"All hands on deck now!" the Padawan commanded "I want all weapons hot and every window covered now!"

"What's going on, sir?" the Weequay militiaman asked as the team rushed back to their leader

Before Marco could answer him, the group heard a faint sound of gears gyrating from outside the outpost. Even in the heaviest of rainfall from outside, couldn't mask the sound that seemed to creep toward them from all sides. The militiamen grew apprehensive as the noise grew louder with every passing every second. While the majority of the soldiers began to feel the fear within the rising, Jackie and Marco remained steady, steady despite feeling that very same terror. They had all heard the stories of what their approaching enemy could do after his massacre of the Jedi on Hypori and even though they had Jedi of their own on their side, they still were terrified of _him._

"That's it man! Game over man! Game over!" Alfonzo shouted "We can't face him!"

"Keep it together solider!" Marco snapped back "We can take him if we just—"

The Padawan was cut off once more when the wall behind them shattered, knocking everyone to the ground. The quickly recovered from surprise attack, only to find a tall, gaunt metallic figure with piercing yellow eyes and white cape draped over his metal shoulders. On his bet where the lightsabers of the Jedi he had slain in combat—weapons that he had been trained by Count Dooku to use as well as any Jedi or Sith.

"Grievous…" Marco growled

"Well, this is certainly a surprise" the droid general "I set a trap for a Jedi Knight, and I catch a Padawan instead"

"Take him down!" the young Jedi exclaimed to his troops

Before anyone could make another move, Grievous leapt forward and crushed a militiaman's skull under his foot before instantly brandishing two of his stolen blades and cutting down two more soldiers in one swift moment. As the general deflected the blaster fire that surrounded him, Marco rushed him and attempted to strike down the Jedi-slayer, but his blades where blocked by Grievous. With seemingly little effort, the Kaleesh cyborg easily clashed blades with the Padawan and blocked the enemy fire at the same time; some of which the leader of the Separatist's armies managed redirect their blaster bolts back at him.

Marco was well-trained with his sabers, but Grievous could easily mix of the styles he used to keep the boy off balance. He would use his two stolen blades with cunning and precision that even some Jedi lacked. Keeping balance with one foot, the droid general managed to snatch one of the militiamen by the ankle with his robotic foot, he then flung the man forward into another soldiers that was standing by a window, knocking them both out of the building and into the streets below.

The young Jedi kept fighting despite the death that was quickly surrounding him. He had to keep it as far away from his mind as possible, for if he let that thought enter his thoughts now, then it would give his opponent the opening he needed to slay him. Marco launched a Force-blast at his enemy to try and knock him back, but the general's claws dug deep into the ground and held in place. Grevious easily switched up styles as if he could do them in his sleep; he even would catch a light saber in foot and use it in combat to keep Marco on the defensive.

Soon the small platoon was cut down to only Marco, Jackie and Alfonso and Ferguson. With their comrades lost, the two militiamen wanted no part in this massacre any longer. They dropped their guns and ran for the nearest exit.

"Wait! Come back!" the Padawan cried out as he blocked the general's sabers before pushing him back

But it was too late; Alfonso and Ferguson had left their friends to die. Now only Jackie stood alongside him as se always had. They silently glanced at one another and in that one moment, they wordlessly said to one another: I love you. Jackie reloaded her clip while Marco connected his two sabers into a saberstaff and readied themselves for the next round.

"I see you still have one solider whose willing to die alongside you" the cyborg applauded darkly "I will look forward to granting you both a warrior's death and adding your lightsabers to my collection, young Padawan"

"That's not going to happen, Grievous" Marco warned

The two teens launched themselves and the general, who blocked Marco's blade and deflected Jackie's blaster bolts. Marco kept up the offensive with everything he had, but it was painfully clear to the young Jedi that Grievous was toying with him. Jackie kept a tight circle around the two dualists, keeping her shots well-placed at the cyborg and not Marco, but her bolts where easily swiped away by the Kalessh's blades. The droid general suddenly turned the tide on his young enemy and began to go one the offensive once again, weakening the Padawan with every blow. Grievous the reached out with his left foot and grabbed Marco by the chest and pinned him up against the wall, knocking his saberstaff out of his hands in the process.

But just as the general was about to deliver the final blow, a blaster bolt struck him in the back, making him drop the boy to the ground and let out a snarl in pain. He kicked Marco across the face to keep in down as he turned around to face the corporal. The young Jedi attempted to stand, but the blow to his head made him dizzy, leaving Jackie alone with the monster.

"Did you forget about me, monster?" she demanded

"Loyal to the end" the cyborg commented "admirable, but ultimately futile"

In a flash, Grievous darted forward with lightsabers in hand and before she could get another shot off, she was impaled through the chest by both weapons. As the life was being drain from her body, she took one more look at the Padawan, who could only helplessly look back at her. She then moved her lips, but no words could be heard, however Marco knew what she was saying.

'I love you, Marco'

Grievous pulled the two blades from her body and let it fall to the ground in a heap. Marco forced himself to stand and face his lover's killers as a fury like he had never felt before began to swell up within his very soul. The general lunged at the Padawan, ready to end this. With a warcry this planet or even this war had never heard before, Marco threw out his hand and unleashed a Force-blast so powerful it blasted a hole in the wall behind Grievous when it struck him, sending him flying out of the building and downward to the ground below.

With that single blast of energy, Marco's strength left him, causing him to fall next to the body of his lover. As his sight darkened, he saw the feet of more militiamen rush toward him.

* * *

The next thing he knew, Marco was within a bacta tank back at the militia's main base camp's medical tent. He thrashed about in surprise at the sudden change in scenery and at the memory of what he had just been through. He was only calmed when he saw his master looking back at him from the other side of the tank with sadness in his eyes.

"It was a trap. All of it" Kota began in a melancholy voice "the outpost, the Separatist base. All one big trap set up by Grievous"

Even though his student was unable to speak, Kota could feel a mixture of rage and sadness radiating from Marco like a bomb ready to blow. Honestly, he was feeling those exact same emotions as well. In just a matter of hours, he had lost nearly half of his men in a slaughter and his Padawan had lost the woman he loved.

"That bastard managed to escape after you blasted him out of the building, but I'm betting his wounded" the Jedi continued before solemnly adding "I'm…I'm sorry about Jackie"

Marco let a single tear roll down his cheek just by hearing her name. He could see that moment play out over and over in his head—and he just watched it!

"We found Alfonzo and Ferguson by the way" his master added "They wanted to see you"

Just as he had said that, Marco's two now former friends entered with a look of shame on their faces, knowing that they had left him to die. Before they could even try to apologize, Marco reached out with the Force and grabbed them in an invisible hold around their throats, lifting them up as he continued to strangle them. As they gasped for air, the Padawan's rage grew in strength as the bacta tank began to crack apart until it finally shattered.

"Marco, stop!" Kota commanded "Stop this now!"

The veil of anger was quickly lifted when the young Jedi heard his master's voice. Realizing what he was doing, he released his hold on the two boys, letting them drop to the ground as if they were rocks—which they may as well by in Marco's eyes. With one stone cold glare down at them, the two young soldiers knew that Padawan they fought alongside no longer saw them as comrades, but as cowards. They quickly strode out of the medical tent with their heads hung low, leaving the two Jedi alone for the moment.

"They'll be dealt with later, I promise you that" Kota assured him "But for right now, I want you to turn your anger on someone who really deserves it"

With that, another pair of militiamen marched into the tent as the dragged a third person in by his arms. The newcomer was a badly beaten Muun, a member of the Banking Clan and finances of the Separatist's army. The two men roughly threw the Muun to the ground in disgust at Marco's feet before leaving. The Muun looked up pleading at him, hoping to find any mercy in the boy's eyes, but found no such thing.

"We found this piece of shit during the attack on the base" Kota informed his student "His name Saan Hill, and we're going find out everything he knows"

"You can't do anything to me! You're Jedi!" Saan snapped back defiantly

Marco's response came in the form of boot across Saan's jaw. Before the Muun could move again, he stamped on his throat, pinning him to the ground.

"Not tonight we're not" Marco coldly said before yanking him off of the ground

The militia could barley get any sleep that night as their commanding officers filled the camp with the sound of Saan's screams.


	10. Dark Forces

Chapter Ten: Dark Forces

Star could only gasp in horror at the general's story once he was finished. The princess couldn't even form words after what she had just heard from the Jedi Knight's mouth. She always believed that the Jedi were warriors of peace, not savages. What crush her more was to hear that Marco—someone she considered to be a dear friend—to partake in such brutal tactics. It began to make her wonder with dread if the Padawan was doing these very same things to the assassin he captured.

"Try to understand princess that this is a war were fighting" Kota's image reasoned grimly "and in war sometimes we need to take certain measures to assure victory"

"And did Marco have to be part of that to 'assure victory'?" Star demanded with disgust in her voice "How could you let your own student torture another person?"

"I'm not proud of what we did that night, princess" the Jedi admitted "and neither was Marco, but we did what we had to do to keep our men safe"

"But your Jedi!" the young girl shot back "You're supposed to be peacekeepers, not soldiers!"

Kota's hologram let out a haggard sigh as he looked away from Star and toward the ground, composing himself before speaking once more.

"I've always been a solider, your highness" he explained "I didn't join the Jedi Order until I was eighteen years old. Before then, I was fighting in a civil war on my home world until Master Windu brought me to Courscant to be trained as a Jedi"

"So you trained Marco as another solider" Star coldly surmised

"I trained him to survive" the hologram replied calmly, though Star could almost sense the tenseness in his voice "I never wanted this life for him, but this war, its destroying everything—and everyone—it touches. I'm not proud of what I've had to do to keep Marco alive, but better to see him at my side interrogating a piece of scum than have him dying in my arms!"

Star didn't think of that. She could see the look of shame the general had on his face at the memories of that day and that the fact that he allowed Marco to partake in such ghastly actions. But as the Jedi Knight had said; this was war that was ripping the galaxy and everyone in it apart. After hearing his explanation, for his actions, there was still one more nagging question lingering in Star's head that she needed to know the answer to.

"Did Saan Hill really die of a heart attack?" she questioned hesitantly, not wanting to know the answer

Kota was clearly taken aback back that question before a dejected expression formed on his face.

"I…don't know for sure, really" he finally admitted "Marco and I worked that Muun pretty hard, but there was no way we could've worked him over that hard"

"Do you…do you think Marco killed him?" Star forced herself to ask "

There was a somber silence on Kota's end of the transmission as he took another pause, as if he didn't want to say anything negative toward his student.

"Honestly princess? I can't say" the Jedi answered "Marco had just lost the love of his life that day and he's very skilled in the ways of the Force. But I want to believe he was better then that and I sense that you want to believe that to"

Star nodded in agreement at that statement. As much as she hated hearing all things about Marco's past, she still believed that he was still a good person inside.

"He cares for you, you know" Kota's hologram suddenly mentioned "And I mean more then just a friend"

That took the hyperactive girl aback. While he admired Marco and had some feelings for him she always assumed that his life as a Jedi would get in the way of him ever returning her feelings, but hearing this news from the padawan's very master gave her a strange mixture of shock and relief go through her mind.

"As I told you before my lady, Marco and I aren't like most Jedi" the general continued on "I wanted Marco to embrace his feelings and stay away from the dogmatic teachings of the Order"

"I…I don't know what to say to him" Star confessed

"I think you do" Kota replied "I can sense Marco's feelings for you are strong. You give him something he hasn't had in a long time: you give him hope"

Star couldn't help but smile at that. Just then, one of Kota's soldiers stepped into view and whispered something into his ear. Even though the princess couldn't hear what was said to the Jedi, she could see the look in the old man's eyes that it most of have been important.

"I'm sorry princess, but something's come up" he informed her

"I understand, general" the girl answered "Thank you for telling me everything"

"And princess" he added "I have a feeling that you may feel the same way toward him as well"

With that, the hologram switched off, leaving Star to confront her next big problem: her feelings toward Marco.

* * *

For nearly a half-hour, the princess of Mewni paced back and fourth in room as she tried to figure out the right words to say to Marco. Normally, Star had no problem telling other how she felt, but for some reason or another, she couldn't figure a single word to say to the Padawan. She had liked boys in the past before and could tell them how she felt toward them without the slightest hint of hesitation, but when it came to Marco, she was speechless.

"Marco, I like you" she rehearsed to herself "no that's too meek. Marco, you're a total hottie and I wanna jump your bones! Nah, that'll scare him off—ugh! Why can't I do this?"

As she continued to wrack her brain over this situation, she heard the sound of voices outside her door. Letting her curiosity take over, she opened her door just a small crack to at least see who was talking. It was a pair of Clone Troopers who where speaking to Marco, who was standing in his doorway with his hood up and hiding his face under it. While the princess couldn't quite exactly make out the words they saying to one another since they were talking in a low tone, she had a sense that it wasn't anything good.

"Alright, let's go" Star heard Marco say before walking past them

The troopers nodded in response before following the young Jedi down the hallway. As Star watched them disappear down the hallway before her curiosity further took control as she slowly opened her door and silently followed several feet behind the Padawan and his escorts. A part of her wanted to stop in her tracks and go right back to her room out of fear of finding something that she wasn't going to like, but she suppressed her dread and continued to pursue them.

* * *

As Marco entered the dungeon, he could feel his captive's pain and it gave him a hidden sense of satisfaction. Every night, he would enter the prison cell he was keeping the assassin and tortured her until she would break down and give him any information regarding Ludo and his army. While she had little to give him in terms of knowledge on Separatist forces, the Jedi in training had a sense that she was hiding something from him and tonight he would make her speak or she would suffer for her silence in ways she couldn't even imagine.

Janna had gone from looking from a beautiful but deadly woman to a beaten and timid woman in the nights being the Padawan's prisoner. The young assassin had experienced torment during captivity before, but the boy's power over the Force made her hurt worse then she ever had before. Her once fair skin was now covered in bruises and dried blood that were given to her by Marco's force-powered fists.

He had harmed her in other was as well. Once Marco strangled her through the Force to the point where she would almost black out before letting go and give her a chance to breathe before restarting the process. He once twisted her arms to point of breaking through his powers them before using the Force to painfully reset the bones and to it all over again. Sometimes he would fling her against her cell's walls like a ragdoll until growing bored and dropping her to the floor.

She was only given a minimal amount of food and water to kept her alive, leaving her feeling hungry and constantly in pain from her starvation. Janna was denied sleep as well; if she shut her eyes longer them so much as thirty seconds, then one of the Clones guarding her would shock her back awake with a quick jab to the ribs with a Bantha prod.

Marco strode into the captive's cell like some reaper come to drag the once great assassin down into the underworld. The Padawan didn't put on his make up that concealed his true appearance, knowing that it would strike fear into his prisoner's heart like it had the first night he had revealed his true self to her. Upon entering the girl's cell, Janna let out a shriek of horror at the sight of her captor before scrambling into the corner of her cell, cowering before the young Jedi.

"The guards tell me that you have something you want to share with me?" Marco said before darkly adding "It had better be worth my time"

"It is I swear!" Janna yelped, not making eye contact with him as she did

"Then talk" he ordered

"I was hired by a man in a black robe" she began "He told me when your master's troops would leave the castle as well as where to find the princess's room"

"I want a name" the young Jedi demanded

Janna paused for a few moments as she finally looked up at her captor with a look of trepidation and terror in bloodshot eyes, as if she didn't want to continue on.

"I…I didn't know his name" she soberly admitted as she looked down at the cold floor "He hired me anonymously through Ludo's contacts"

Marco narrowed his yellow eyes as he crossed his arms; he was clearly disappointed by this lack of information. Tears flowed from Janna's eyes, knowing what was going to happen next.

"So, you hired by someone in a black robe" he said in scolding tone "And you didn't even know his name"

"Please don't hur—"the assassin tried to beg

"You know what this sounds like to me?" Marco continued "That sounds like a lie"

"I swear that's all I know!"

"And when you lie to me, I hurt you" he finished

Resting his arms at his side, Marco reached out with the Force and began to squeeze down on her chest, making the girl let out a scream of agony as she felt her heart in flames. She thrashed helplessly on the floor while Marco looked down at her with a cold indifference in his expression.

"Am I bringing back any memories now?" he inquired before squeezing harder "How about now?"

"M-Marco?"

The boy instantly stopped what he as doing at the sound of the familiar voice and released his hold on Janna's heart, causing her to pass out from the pain. He spun around and saw the one person he never wanted to see his true self or the things he did.

Standing before him in a state of horror at the sight of him and his work, was Star Butterfly.

* * *

Ludo rapt his claws in displeasure; this war wasn't going quite the way he planned it in the least. Durge's attack on the militia, while successful at disrupting them, still didn't end the Jedi Knight's life. His battles at the front lines against the Clones weren't doing so well either, for while he had the bigger army, this 'Captain Tarkin' as he was known as knew how to maneuver his smaller army of Clones into winning battles against his droids.

He was starting to wonder if he should send his own men into battle at this point, but the problem was that while they were highly trained, they were very few in numbers. The rebellion leader started to wonder if this was a winnable war at this point, but for the sake of his people he had to stifle any doubts he had. He still had Durge in his pocket and while Toffee proved useless at this point, he still kept him around in case the Jedi and his student came to his doorstep one day.

Currently, Ludo and his advisories where discussing matters of the war effort in his throne room. Durge was present as well, for he stated that he wanted another shot at the Jedi who had beaten him in combat. Toffee was also there to give his information on the general and his Padawan as well.

"So how do we fight him?" Ludo questioned sharply

"Kota may be reeling from you bounty hunter's attack, but he's not out" the former Jedi answered "No doubt he's regrouping his forces deep within the forests and reorganizing his attack patterns so your little ambush won't catch him off guard twice"

"So what do we do?" the small leader asked "My contact in the castle told me where to find the base, but we can't just go in there on foot. That forest is too big and too dense for an army to march in there and they'd more then likely run and hide somewhere else before we even reached them"

"It's simply solution really" Toffee countered plainly "Burn the forest"

"And just how do you suppose we do that?" Ludo mused

"I have special surprise for my former Padawan" the fallen Jedi assured him "you'll see, come tomorrow's first light, Rahm Kota and his little militia will be annihilated"

"That still leaves his student and the Clone army" Buff Frog cut in harshly

"I assure you that Kota is much more of a threat then Tarkin and his Clones" the servant of Dooku calmly replied "As for the Padawan…leave him to me"

With that, the former Jedi master turned and left the meeting and walked back to his room, all the while receiving cold looks from his allies as he departed. As he walked down the empty halls of Ludo's castle, he received message from his holo-player. He took it out of his pocket and switched it on to reveal the image of a droid commander.

"Sir, we have just reached the site you had specified" the droid said

"Good" Toffee answered "Begin drilling operations at once and notify me if you find anything of importance"

"Roger, roger" the machine acknowledged before the man-lizard cut the communications

Toffee couldn't help but grin to himself. Everything was proceeding exactly as he planned. Soon his former student and his rag-tag army would be reduced to ash and the relic he sought after would be his along with Marco who would help him achieve his goals of defeating Dooku and his master and replacing them as the new lord of the Sith.


	11. Love and Rage

Chapter Eleven: Love and Rage

Silence.

That was the only thing in the dungeon as Star and Marco continued to stare at one another in a shared shock at one another's presence. For Marco, this was last thing he wanted his friend to see his true face and the damage the Force had done to him over the course the war. Even worse, she had just witnessed him torturing Janna in the most brutal ways possible. Shame filled his heart as he could feel the fear from the princess radiating off of her like the power coming off of a lightning rod.

"Star…" the Padawan began slowly, still unsure as to what to say

The young Jedi's friend suddenly turned away from him and bolted out of the dungeon, all the while leaving a trail of tears behind her. After shutting Janna's cell shut through the Force, Marco quickly chased after her. What could he tell her that could make her want her to forgiven? The words 'I'm sorry' could said a million times over to the hyperactive girl along with a number of other words to try and make things right, but it wouldn't help him in the least. He finally stopped her in hallway where he took her by the shoulder and spun her around to face him once more.

"Star wait!" he pleaded "Please let me explain!"

"Explain what? That you tortured that assassin to the point of death?!" she shot back as she pushed him back "How could do such a thing?!"

"This is a war Star!" Marco argued "And in war we—"

"Must take certain measures to achieve victory" Star sharply cut in "You sound just like Kota"

The boy's eyes widen in shock when he heard that. He could only imagine what the princess and his master discussed without his knowledge.

"He told me everything" the blonde haired girl continued "About Nar Shaddaa…about Grievous…about—"

"Jackie…" he finished somberly before his voice became tense "He had no right to tell you any of that"

"Would you have?" Star replied

"I wanted to, Star, believe me I did" Marco said "But that battle…losing Jackie…its hard part of my life to talk about"

Now came for Star to ask a more difficult question for the princess to ask. A party of her didn't want to know and leave it alone, but she had to know from truth and she would only get it from the Padawan's mouth.

"You did it, didn't you?" she began, still unsure if she wanted the answer "You killed Saan Hill"

Marco looked away from her as his head low in shame. It was more than enough to tell his friend what she feared to be true. She covered her mouth in horror as she stepped away from him. Marco made no attempt to keep her close; instead, he did what he should've done from the start: tell her the truth.

"When we finished interrogating Hill for the night, Master Kota and I returned to our tents" he explained "But Jackie's death kept playing in my head over and over again. I was so full of rage at the fact that little piece of filth was still alive and she wasn't. I couldn't live with myself knowing that Hill was still alive and she wasn't"

As he spoke, Star could hear the pain in his words, truly saddened by recounting that day.

"I waited for when Master Kota slept before returning to the tent that we were holding Hill" Marco continued "He was so frightened when he saw me enter the tent; his fear began to feed my power. I used the Force to keep his mouth shut so he wouldn't scream before I went to work"

He closed his hands into fists as the memories continued to flood into his mind. It was as if he was reliving that night all over again. He could hear the Muun's scream echo throughout the very corners of his mind just as loud as he did the night he took the Separatist's life.

"I reached out with my anger and took hold his heart and I crushed it!" he suddenly shouted before he paused for a few moments before speaking a quieter tone "I watched him die in front of me and all I could feel was…cold"

The princess could hear no trace of satisfaction in Marco's words. Instead, she could only hear the sound of regret and self-loathing in the boy's voice. She had no idea what it must have been like for him when had forsaken everything that the Jedi Order had taught him to believe in; and all in the name of a girl he loved no less. Star was starting to see where Marco was coming from, this wasn't just some act of petty vengeance, but as a final testament of the Padawan's love for the the girl. It began to make her wonder though: would it be right of her to try even to even ask Marco to be her lover? It was painfully clear to the Star that the Jedi in training cared deeply for the departed solider—maybe even more than he cared for her.

"That was start of, well, all this" he mentioned as he pointed at his face before explaining "Force corruption. The more I mix my emotions while using the Force, the more my body erodes from its power. Soon I'll look more like a Sith Lord than a Jedi…I might even become one at this rate"

"Don't say that" his friend suddenly said "You may not be like most Jedi, but that doesn't mean you're like Dooku"

"And what makes you say that?" the young Jedi questioned in a sharper tone then he intend

"Because you felt something that he'll never feel" she informed "You felt love"

Star then approached the boy and gently placed a hand on his cheek, a gesture he gave a small, yet still warm smile in response to her kind gesture. Marco's dark yellow eyes looked deep into the young girl's light blue ones and began to feel a sudden warmness overtake his body. He felt that way when he was with Jackie and time and again he felt that same sensation when he was with the princess of Mewni. He did still have feelings for Jackie, but his feelings for Star were just as great and could no longer refuse himself of her any longer.

"Marco…" the hyperactive girl said slowly "I…I know I'm not Jackie, but I—"

"I don't want you to be Jackie" the Padawan assumed her as he smiled softly to her "I just want you to be...you"

Star blushed a shade of red as deep as Marco's cheeks were at the moment. It was then that the young girl did something she wanted to do for awhile. She leaned forward and gently placed her lips upon Marco's. Rather then reject her advance; the young Jedi kissed her back with a sort of soft intensity. The two teens wrapped their arms around one another as the kissed grew deeper between them.

Marco knew that if word had gotten out about this intimate moment he was having with the girl he would be banished from the Jedi Order, but truth be told, he could care less about what they thought. He had grown weary of not only this war, but also the Order itself. The teenager was starting to see the Order less like mighty warriors of peace, but as a clan of war-mongering monks that were nothing more than attack dogs of a broken government.

True, the Force was damaging his body, but through his powers, his emotions were heightened in a sense—including love. Through the Force, he could sense that Star's love for him was in fact genuine and not something she considered to be some fun fling to indulge in. It was because of this that he kissed passionately—wanting her to feel truly loved by him.

Star knew she was committing a crime as well, for Marco was no prince and if word of this kiss ever reached her parents, then she would be severely punished for even doing something like this with someone who wasn't of royal blood. The princess had encountered suitors from other systems from both the Mid-Rim and the Core Worlds, but all of them all shared one thing: the cared only the throne, not for her. But with Marco it was different; she knew that he loved only her and not ruling her planet. She didn't care what the Padawan looked like, all wanted his love and he wanted only hers.

After what seemed like forever, the two new lovers parted lips but continued to look lovingly into each other's eyes. They finally found the one they had each had been searching for so long for.

"Marco…if anyone finds out—"Star attempted

"I know" her lover cut off tenderly before giving her a quick kiss "But I'm willing to take that risk"

"So am I" the blonde answered before kissing him back

The two embraced each other tightly before quickly leaving the open hallways and returning to their respective rooms. Marco did consider following Star back to her room to further express their newfound love, but he decided not to try anything like that to soon. Instead, he let Star return to her room—but not before giving her one last kiss goodnight before parting ways.

* * *

"I'm getting quite tired of your excuses, Toffee" Dooku's hologram scolded in a stoic tone "I sent you there to handle the situation and so far you've done nothing!"

Despite the rage that was boiling inside of him. Toffee remained calm of collected on the outside. He was in the middle of his mediation when his new master had called him, and as per usual, it was nothing good. Toffee was the newest of Jedi to see the truth about the Order he once served and had joined the count's side in the war. But due to the fact that he had only allied with the Dark Lord only recently, he was still unwelcome among Dooku's inner circle. Toffee had hoped that if he could complete his mission he could be one step closer to leader of the Separatists and to his goal of replacing him.

"I assure you my lord, Kota and his Padawan will be dealt with" the Dark Jedi replied as he knelt before the Sith's image "Mewni will be part of the Confederacy in due time"

"Remember why you are truly there, Master Toffee" the Sith Lord said "Speaking of which; how goes our _other_ operation?"

"The mining teams have already begun excavation" Toffee answered "I'm confident we will find the crypt soon"

"I hope so as well" The Count commented before adding with sneer "For your sake"

"I will not fail you, my lord" the former Jedi defended, holding back his anger in his words

"Never the less, it is vital that we do not lose Mewni to the Republic" the Sith continued "For to lose control a planet of such history would be loss to us. A task such as this is to important to entrust to one person"

Toffee looked up at the image with a mixture of confusion and surprise on his face. He knew what the count meant by that and did not like the idea of sharing his find with one of Dooku's zealots.

"Master—with all due respect I can accomplish this mission on my own" Toffee argued "There's no need to—"

"Oh but there is a need, Toffee" Dooku sharply interrupted "One of my agents will arrive to assist you when Mewni's conquest and to find the crypt"

With that, Dooku's image cut out, leaving Toffee feeling a fury build up inside him like never before. With an angry snarl, he Force-blasted the holo-player into the wall, shattering it on contact. He was so close! He refused to let one of Dooku's lackey's take his moment of triumph away from him. The fallen Jedi master had to secure the crypt quickly before Dooku's servant arrived and stole what was rightfully his. But should the Sith's agent get in his way before such time, he have no qualm about slaying him.

As Toffee fumed over this news, he failed to sense the presence of a small droid that was spying on his conversation with the Sith Lord before reporting to back its master.

* * *

Ludo cackled wickedly in the confines of his room as the droid showed him the recording of Toffee's verbal lashing by the count's tongue. He didn't really care much for the Dark Jedi and to see him being treated like a commoner filled his vile heart with glee. On the other hand though, it did present him with an interesting opportunity. While Toffee was intolerable, he was powerful, and a power like the former Jedi Master's could prove useful if he could convince him to leave Dooku's side and join his cause. He could already see that the man-lizard had his own ambitions, all the newly made Separatist leader had to do was prey on those said ambitions and he would serve him instead.

"Magnificent, isn't it Buff Frog?" he asked his right-hand man as looked on at the recording "Dooku preaches unity, but there is still strife among his ranks!"

"Aren't you concerned by this news, master?" Buff Frog inquired "If Dooku is really sending another agent, it will only make finding the crypt even more difficult"

"Not if Toffee is already at my side" his master reasoned before chuckling "You know, it's kind of funny, they think we're a bunch of misbegotten monsters on a planet whose history is unknown to us, when in reality it is we who are the true masters of this world!"

Ludo's laughter grew even greater then before, making his second in command feel uneasy. Ever since his master had allied himself with Dooku's Confederacy, the Ludo he had served loyally was starting to fade away into a true monster. The whole point of the alliance was to gain the forces needed to overthrow the Mewnian royal family and once again become the true rulers of the planet once again. But it was becoming painfully clear to the man-frog that the leader he once knew was nothing more than a madman with a dark purpose for not just this world, but the whole galaxy.

"Buff Frog" his master spoke up, getting his servant's attention "I want you to gather up our troops and surround the forest Kota's hiding in"

"But Toffee said he was going to have the forest burned" his right hand man reasoned absentmindedly

"Yes, but even wamp rats can escape even the greatest of blazes" Ludo countered as his yellow eyes narrowed at him "Make sure not a single solider gets out of that forest alive"

"But master, the fire might—"the man-frog attempted to say

"Do I make myself clear?!" Ludo snarled

"…yes sir" Buff Frog forced himself to say

"Good. Now get out of my sight" the small leader spat

With a forced salute to his master, the monster departed, giving Ludo the chance to pull out a small holo-player and make contact with his contact on inside of Mewni's royal family.

"Is everything ready?" he asked

"Yes, my master" the spy replied with a bow of his head "And what of the assassin?"

"She's served her purpose" the Separatist began "Dispose of her"

The spy bowed his head once more before cutting of the transmission. Ludo chuckled darkly to himself. Soon the Jedi that plagued him would be gone and the Mewians would soon follow. Once they were delt with, he would then turn his attention to the stars above and set his sights on creating an Empire of his own making.

"Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen it" he said to himself before letting out another thrill cackle of triumph that echoed throughout the castle halls


	12. Ambush

Chapter Twelve: Ambush

Unknown to the princess when she called, the urgent message in question that Kota had to receive a message that came directly from the Jedi Council. While the Jedi Knight had sent reports, and kept up some communications with the Council, Kota tried his best not to speak to with them more then he had to. Despite being a part of the Jedi Order, he and the Masters didn't see eye to eye, especially when it came to go about this entire war. While the vast majority of the Jedi wanted to hold onto their traditions and code of ethics, some Jedi such as Kota believed it was necessary to forgo their codes to achieve victory over the Separatists.

For Rahm Kota, fighting had been in his blood since as far back as he could remember. Unlike most of the Jedi who were brought into Order as infants or toddlers, Kota was brought into the Jedi Order when he was eighteen years old by Master Mace Windu where he was then taken under the tutelage of Master Toffee. Before then, he was an orphaned child solider who had faced the horrors of war first hand. Even back then, the Jedi Knight thought that the Council was filled with nothing but hypocrites. They allowed him into their fold at such a late age, yet Yoda and the others attempted to bar Master Qui-Gon from training Anakin when he was only nine because he claimed he was too old. Perhaps if they allowed the late Jedi to teach the child he would not have fallen to the blades of a Sith Lord.

His teacher shared his sentiments toward the Order, whom he considered to be unable to accept change unless it suited them. Toffee was always a forward thinker among the Council, but he was also the most outspoken Jedi Master. Time and time again Toffee had tried to steer the antiqued Jedi Order into a new and bold direction, but he was only shunned for his ideas to the point where he they took stripped him of his place at the Council and only left him the title Master in name only. Kota's teacher moved past his dishonor and focused on training his Padawan until he was given the rank of Jedi Knight. Shortly after his knighthood, his former teacher introduced him to a youngling that he would take on as his own Padawan: Marco.

Did the other Masters mourn Toffee's passing? Did they even care? It was something the old solider wanted to know that question, but knew he could never ask it. Kota was on constant thin ice with the Council for choosing to recruit a militia instead of using Clones in combat and the influence he had on his Padawan which they considered to be damaging to his training as a Jedi. Granted, he could care less if he was exiled from the Jedi Order, but he feared what would the Order would do to Marco without him at the boy's side. Kota always had a sense that the only reason he wasn't thrown out of the Order was that he was one of the very few Jedi who understood the art of war unlike the rest of Order. But Kota also had this nagging fear that once this war was over that they would no longer have any reason to keep him among the Oder and would cast him aside the moment they had the chance.

Kota activated his holo-feed and within moments the images of Yoda, Mace Windu, Tholm, Plo Koon & Shaak Ti appeared before him. Right from the start Kota knew that whatever the Masters had to say was nothing good. Tholm was a friend Kota and shared his views on the Jedi's stagnant ways, but unlike Toffee, he wasn't as vocal on the matter and was more focused on his task as the Order's spymaster. Tholm's former student, Quinlan Vos, was currently in deep cover in Count Dooku's inner circle, though it was hard to tell if Vos's was still putting on an act or if he had truly fallen to the dark side of the Force.

"Is something wrong, masters?" Kota asked

"Actuality Kota, it's good news" Tholm replied "We're finally able to send you and Captain Tarkin reinforcements"

"That's excellent news" the old solider said with a hint of relief in his voice "Who is it?"

"The Dark Woman" Mace answered this time in his usual stoic voice

Kota did not like the sound of that. The Jedi Master known as the Dark Woman who was once called An'ya Kuro was a stern and harsh master who condemned all forms of attachment—even between the bound between master and student. Kota remembered of how often Toffee and Master Kuro would argue the most out of all of the Council members and it was because of the Dark Woman suggestion to the Council that Toffee was removed from his place among them. It went without saying that Kota was not excited by this, but the need to win Mewni in the name of the Republic override his recement toward the master.

"More to this news, there is" Yoda furthered "Continue your Padawan's training, the Dark Woman will"

The old soldier's jaw nearly went slack jawed from Yoda's words. He always feared that they would try to separate him and Marco, but to do such a thing in the middle of warzone was completely unheard of, let alone give him to one of the harshest teachers in the Order made Kota's blood boil.

"But why?" he demanded "Marco is a good student—he hasn't done anything wrong!"

"It's not the boy we are concerned about" Plo spoke up "It's what your teaching him that worries us"

"Teaching him what? To survive?" Kota questioned sharply "we are in the middle of a war!"

"Your training him to be a solider, not a Jedi" Mace countered sternly

"I was solider before I became a Jedi in case you've forgotten, Master Windu" the Jedi Knight harshly pointed out "I'm trying to teach the boy the means to live to see the end of this war!"

"And what then, Kota?" Shaak Ti questioned "What will become of your student when this war ends?"

"What matters right now is that he'll still be alive to see the end of it" the Jedi Knight replied before addressing the other masters "I'm sorry masters, but I cannot accept this"

"Final, our decision is" Yoda informed him "Change it, you cannot"

Kota clenched his fists in anger. The Council treated the separation between him and his student as if it was just an ordinary conversation and simply expected him to just roll over and accept it. Kota's anger did not go unnoticed by the Council nor did it go unanswered.

"Calm yourself, Rahm" Tholm advised "There's no need to get angry"

"I would heed Master Tholm's words, Kota" Mace insisted as he narrowed his eyes at him "Stand down"

The Jedi Knight's response to that came in the form of a Force-blast that destroyed his holo-player. He knew that his brash actions wouldn't change the Council's decision, but only enforce it. However, it did make him feel slightly better to cut them off in such a way. He knew that the second the Dark Woman touched down on Mewni with her troops that it would mean the end of his and Marco's partnership. But he would oppose the Council's orders, even if he had to fight the Jedi Master to do so.

Just then, he heard a sound in the distance, a low rumble that seemed to grow louder and louder with each passing second. Sensing danger, Kota stepped out of his tent to find much of his troops standing outside and looking up at the cloudy skies above them, troubled by the growing sound above them. the sound was so familiar to them and yet they could not distinguish. Acting on instinct, Kota drew his lightsaber and activated it while his militia readied their weapons and aimed them at the sky, waiting for whatever was heading their way with dreaded anticipation. Suddenly, the source of the sound came screaming out of clouds with their weapons primed and ready for combat.

"Vulture Droids!" the Jedi General shouted before calling out to his troops "Everyone take cover!"

The eight Vulture droids wasted no time in raining rockets and blaster fire down on the militia. The soldiers attempted to scatter out of the way, but many were either gunned down by the droid's blasters or killed by the impacts from the rockets. Kota deflected the blaster shots away from several of the soldiers that were around him as they attempted to run for cover, but he couldn't protect all of his men at once. Some of the militiamen took up defensive positions and returned fire at the aerial machines as they gave cover to their retreating comrades, but the agile Vultures were moving too fast for them to get a proper bead of them and when they did, the droids were out of their weapons range.

As Kota hid behind a nearby rock with Alfonso and Ferguson at his side. As the chaos ensured around him, the Jedi Knight wondered how exactly did Ludo's forces discover his camp's location. It didn't take long for him to figure out the answer. Obviously, the spy in the castle had tipped off Ludo to where the militia had been camping. If he had his men lived through this, he and Marco and focus on hunting down this traitor and making him pay—that is if he lived to do so, that is.

"What are we going to do, sir?!" Ferguson demanded in a panic

"We need to get out their line of fire!" Kota ordered before shouting to his soldiers "Get to the forest! Move!"

The dying screams and cries of the Jedi's men and woman that served under him filled his ears. Kota looked all around him as the soldiers he had fought and bled with were being gunned down like Banthas to the slaughter. The chaos that now spread around the camp was also taken in by the two young soldiers that hide alongside their leader. Alfonso and Ferguson had been combat situations before and were no strangers to the horrors of war, but to see this level of slaughter was something they had not witnessed since the massacre at Outpost Forty-Four.

The Vulture droids then split into two groups of four as they made their turn around back toward them. As they came around for another strafing run, Kota reached out with the Force and took hold of one of the aerial droids and forced it to careen sideways into one of the other Vultures; thereby causing them both to explode on impact with one another. With two of their own destroyed, the remaining six droids immediately cut their run short and backed off so they could try a different approach.

"Go now! To the trees!" the Jedi general commanded his militia "Hurry!"

The soldiers who could stand either picked up a weapon or a wounded comrade before quickly running toward the safety of the tree line, hoping they could find cover from the droids that flew above them. As Kota, Alfonso and Ferguson ran for the dense forest alongside the rest of the militia, Alfonso noticed a thermal launcher laying beside its now deceased owner. The young solider acted quickly by rushing over to the body and taking passion of the launcher while his general and friend continued to run for cover, they were nearly twenty feet away from him before realizing that he was lagging behind them. Kota and Ferguson spun around to see much to their shock the sight of friend and fellow solider attempting to make what might be his final stand.

Alfonso took a knee as he steadied himself and as the weapons guidance system began to lock on to one of the Vulture droids as they came back around. This was downright stupid of him honestly, the boy was never the one for heroics, but seeing his brothers and sisters of war die right before his eyes made him remember the painful memoirs of his and Ferguson's cowardice back on Naar-Shadaa, but this time he would cower before the enemy, this time he would fight back!

He took a deep breath as the launcher's guidance system picked out a target. He waited as the six droids flew in closer as they started firing on the fleeing militia once more. With one pull of the trigger, Alfonso let loose a thermal shell that rocketed directly toward of the one of droids, striking it face first and exploding the second it made contact with its target. Once again, the Vultures broke off their attack run and circled around for another shot. Upon seeing what he had done, Alfonso couldn't help but turn to his friend and his general and let out a cheer of victory at his actions. Sadly, however, he failed to notice that the Vulture droids had already swung around and were beginning their next assault. A stray missile from one of the aerial droids flew toward the young solider and struck the ground only a few feet away from him just as he turned to be caught face first in the blast that sent him flying backwards.

"No!" Ferguson cried out

Risking life and limb, the portly boy hustled over to his now downed friend with his leader following close before. Ferguson knelt down beside the badly burnt body of his friend and felt for his pulse. Thankfully, his friend was still alive, but he was just barely hanging as it is. Wasting no time, Ferguson picked his fallen friend and hurried back toward the tree line while Kota provided cover for them by deflecting droid's blaster bolts with his blade. Despite his heavyset body, Ferguson moved quickly, knowing that if he slowed down for even a moment that it would mean the end of Alfonso's life.

Suddenly, the cries of other soldiers could be heard from the forest. Much to Kota's shock, he saw a mix of battle droids and Ludo's soldiers gunning down the militiamen who had managed to make into the cover of the forest. Many of the already tired and wounded troops returned fire, but due to their position out in the open and the smoke and trees giving their enemies the perfect cover, they were simply no match for the Separatist blitzkrieg. Many of the soldiers either fell back to another part of the forest or managed to cut a path through the monsters and droids to allow their comrades to make a break for it while they bravely held the line.

It was then that the Jedi sensed a presence of a familiar foe, he looked up to see the bounty hunter, Durge, slowly descending from the smoke-filled skies and landed before the Jedi general. Ferguson attempted to reach for his gun, but Kota stop him as he put himself between the two boys and the massive Gen'Dai warrior.

"Ferguson, take Alfonso into the forest and rally with whoever's left back at the castle" he ordered as he took a battle stance

"But sir— "

"Now boy!" he commanded

Ferguson could only nod to his general and run into a different direction of the forest away from where the major battle was taking place with his friends slung over his shoulder. With the two boys hopefully safe, Kota lunged forward and swung his blade, only to have it blocked by Durge's wrist shields and punched to the ground by the brute's massive fists. Kota quickly rolled out of the way the Gen'Dai's massive foot before it crushed his skull before he jumped back to his feet and Force-blasted the bounty hunter backwards several feet. Durge instantly recovered and drew his blasters to begin firing upon the Jedi. Kota blocked the blaster bolts as he charged forward his opponent. Once he was close enough, he sliced the two blasters in half before removing both of the brutish alien's arms along with them. keeping up the attack, Kota took his lightsaber and took the Gen'Dai's legs out from under him.

"You can't kill me, Jedi" Durge informed him, almost as if he was boasting

"Then I'll have to keep cutting you up until I do" Kota replied

He raised his blade once more to begin chopping up the bounty hunter by starting with his head. Suddenly, the Jedi general sensed dark, yet still familiar presence closing on him. He was about to turn around to face this stranger, but before he could, he felt the cold touch of the dark side of the Force grip him as he was lifted off the ground and flung into nearby tree, feeling a rib or two break upon impact with as it did. He felt the Force pin him up against side of tree as he tried to break free from its hold, but it was useless, the exhaustion of fighting the droids and Durge had sapped a good amount of strength he had within him. as Kota continued struggle free, he saw how had ambushed him and gasped in total disbelief.

"No…" he said in almost a fearful whisper "It can't be…"

"Hello, my old Padawan" Toffee greeted coolly

Through the Force, Toffee yanked Kota's lightsaber out of his hand and brought it into his own. As he did, Durge has already reconnected his severed to his body and healed himself of the wounds he had just sustained from Kota's blade only mere moments ago and was already back on his feet. Kota was more focused on the sight of his former teacher whom he had thought died standing before him. How was this even possible? And more importantly, why had Master Toffee allied himself with the Separatists?

"Master…why?" he asked

"Wouldn't you like to know?" his former master answered with a small smirk on his lips as Durge approached the trapped Jedi

The last thing saw Kota saw was the sight of Bounty Hunter's fist coming right at his face.

* * *

 **A/N: I want to apologize for taking so long with updating this story. I honestly had no idea how to continue the story after the last chapter and had to take a step back from it in order to get story details better thought out. Now that I have a better idea on how to continue this fic hopefully I'll be quicker with the updates.**


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